A 32-day fundraising campaign to preserve a huge and historic Acadian church in western Nova Scotia has raised only a fraction of the funds needed to save the building.
The chairman of Nation Prospère Acadie, a non-profit group leading the campaign—which ended Tuesday—says about $116,000 of the $2.5-million goal has been donated toward repairing Saint Bernard Church and creating a trust fund to preserve it.
Michel Cyr says the money raised is not enough to purchase the building from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, or for the roof repairs and other upgrades required.
He says it’s expected the fundraising effort will continue for several more weeks, as his group approaches government officials and other potential donors more directly to save the building from being listed for sale and potentially demolished….