Since the beginning of 2005, through various events he's organized, Thirugnana, 41, has been able to raise $880,000, including $690,000 to build Canada Tamil Village in north Sri Lanka which will have 250 homes and is expected to house 1,500 refugees.
"Raising $880,000, just by myself, is not easy but people trust me because I'm very open about everything I do," he said.
Now he's opened a Pizza Depot in Mississauga, and a portion of the restaurant's profits will go towards various charities.
Thirugnana immigrated to Canada from Sri Lanka in 1987 when he was in his early 20s. He lived in Mississauga and obtained an economics degree from York University.
"After the tsunami hit, I saw how vulnerable people were. They lost everything," said Thirugnana, who now lives in Oakville with his wife and two children.
He visited his native land in 2005 and saw first-hand the carnage caused by the monstrous wave, which left more than 40,000 dead and a staggering 2.5 million people displaced.
In early 2005, he held his first fundraising musical show, called Nivaranam, and later that year another. Those shows raised about $150,000 which went to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization — Canada. There have now been 10 of those events. Fifteen per cent of the proceeds from the next Nivaranam, which means relief in Tamil, will go towards the Ontario Schizophrenia Society.
Because he runs so many of these events, Thirugnana has to regularly take time off his work as an advertising consultant for a media company. With the pizza shop, he's hoping to have a steady income while being able to have some time to run his many fundraisers.
Why pizza? "We're in economic tough times but people will still eat pizza."
The grand opening for the restaurant, located at 3945 Doug Leavens Blvd. in Meadowvale, is this Saturday, Nov. 1 at noon. The restaurant will hand out 200 medium pizzas for free. Check out his personal website at www.minnal.ca.
dkurek@mississauga.net
