Sep 10, 2007 - 03:46 PM

By Keith Gilligan

AJAX -- Almost 30 charities are scrambling to find alternate funding sources with the closing of Bingo Country in Ajax.

Joyce Smith, the founder and director of the Second Chance Wildlife Sanctuary, says the loss of the bingo revenue will have an "awful impact.

"It's the only steady income we have," she says.

The sanctuary has other fundraisers and regular donors, but receives $2,000 to $3,000 a month from the bingo.

"I don't know what to do. I've been racking my brain, trying to find other income," Ms. Smith says. "It's a kick in the pants to us."

The sanctuary provides a safe haven for rescued animals, most of them cats. It has 300 cats that have to be micro-chipped, spayed or neutered and given all their shots before they can be adopted out.

Asked if the sanctuary would be able to stay open, Ms. Smith says, "I don't know. Every sanctuary has a hard time. I'm really worried. I don't know what will happen to all these animals."

Lucy Ogilvie, the bingo hall manager, says a series of actions have hurt the industry.

The provincial non-smoking rules "hit us hard. The new casino hit us hard. And, the Province's new revenue model hit us hard," she states.

Among the changes brought on by the revenue model were paid staff had to be used as 'runners' on the floor, instead of volunteers. The wages of the paid runners were to come out of a hall's operating budget.

To offset the cost, operators will be getting a larger share of the revenue pie. They had received 40 per cent, with charities getting the other 60 per cent. As of May 1, operators received 55 per cent.

As for the Slots at Ajax Downs, "we haven't made any money since it opened. About 20 per cent of our customers went to the casino," she notes.

The no-smoking regulations "really did a big impact on us."

The Ajax site has 30 employees and provides funding to 29 charities. Last year, she estimated about $1.2 million was handed out to charities.

"They're going to see a huge difference. A lot will have to close their doors. A lot can't function without the bingo revenue," Ms. Ogilvie states, adding the site closes on Sept. 30.

Richard Sabourin, the past president of the Durham West Girls' Hockey Association, says the closing would probably lead to higher registration fees.

The amount of money the association receives from the bingo works out to about $30 per member, he says.

"Without that money, registration will increase $30," he says.

The DWGHA wanted to keep the registration fee to below $500 for this hockey season, but it had to "dip into our retained earnings" to do so, he says.

This year, it's $450 and the rate was set based on receiving bingo revenues, he adds.

"We have no way to recoup that revenue," Mr. Sabourin says, adding the association is losing $15,000.

"We can't cut back on expenses. Ice is ice and jerseys are jerseys. There isn't any fat there. We are as lean as we can be. This will have a dramatic effect."

Another affect is on families who struggle to pay the registration fee, he notes.

"We have a number of members who apply to us on an annual basis for assistance. They work in the bingo hall for their honorarium. There are 10 to 20 families who work out at the bingo hall," Mr. Sabourin says.

DWGHA won't be turning away any players who can't afford to play, he notes. "In 14 years, we've never turned a child away and we don't anticipate starting."

Ann Marie Webbe, the executive director of the KMW Adult Day Program, says the loss will affect the services provided to clients.

"We'll have to scale back quite a bit. Our members will feel that," Ms. Webbe notes. "It's going to have a huge impact on us. We have to find another route so we don't have to increase the costs to the families."

KMW received about $50,000 a year from the charity bingo. Without that money, it won't be able to pay for a specialist to work with clients.

The program has 22 members paying $30 per day for services, she says. "Even with that fee, it's not enough to pay for a specialist."

It also offers an after-school program for special needs youths, and the cost is $9 per person.

There are nine youths aged 14 and older in the after-school program, where they work on "behaviour issues, attention issues, communication issues. This is somewhere for them to come to. They are the way they are for the rest of their lives.

"Everything will be scaled back. Families may have to make alternate programs for after school. It's a real loss for us," Ms. Webbe says.