Three sisters from Dalhousie, who are all in their 70s, have spent the past week swimming at the local pool every morning as a fundraiser for the Restigouche County SPCA.

Their goal was to raise $1,000 by swimming 600 laps, but they ended up raising more than $4,000 by swimming 930 laps, said Mina Sanders, 73.

"I don't know if it's an adrenaline high or what, but I think we could do even more laps," Sanders said on Friday, referring to herself and her two older sisters, Irma Hachey, 77 and Norma Andersen, 79.

Meanwhile, the donations are still coming in from as far away as Calgary, she said.

The money will go toward the SPCA's operational budget as it builds a new facility.

Grateful for support

Sanders hopes it will be enough to support the organization until it can move into the new building and is grateful for the support the community has shown.

"Every morning we've had a couple of people at a quarter to seven. One couple are in their 80s and they drove up from New Mills, which is about 14 miles," she said.

"I looked and I could see these two little white heads and I thought 'I wonder who that is?' So at the end, there they were to cheer us on."

The initiative also seems to have boosted community spirit, Sanders said.

"Everybody's on the upbeat, it's just absolutely wonderful, absolutely. I just can't tell you how great it is. It's just beyond belief," she said.

"Our poor little town's had a few bad knocks with the mill closing, the chemical plant and the thermal plant. So we're an industrial town with no industries, but we're fighting back and we're gonna come back," she said.