A fundraising opportunity to change everything for a child

“We’re in a comfortable space, I suppose you’d say, financially because we’ve spent the last 50 years building the organization but when you’re looking at potentially $140,000 of lost revenue, that’s a really big bite,” said Lewis.

Two of their main fundraisers were cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, including the Big Pursuit.

The Big Pursuit raised $30,000 – 40,000 each year for the Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) program where teams had to complete in an adventure race across the city solving clues and completing challenges. The BBBS program matches a child with a teenage or adult “mentor” to establish a positive and stable relationship.

A second major fundraiser raised between $80,000 – 100,000 annually for the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) program which provides out-of-school activities for kids to socialize and build friendships.

Meanwhile, a third program in demand is the 49^th Street Youth Shelter, offering food and housing for children and their families in emergencies, as well as transitionary programs for youth becoming young adults.

To cover for the lost revenue, Youth HQ put together the “Opportunity Changes Everything” campaign which would distribute funds to all three programs rather than one in particular.

“The reason we chose ‘Opportunity Changes Everything’ is, it’s really at the core of who we are,” he said. “If we can create different opportunities for children in youth in our programs, it opens up all sorts of doors in the future that they otherwise wouldn’t have had.”

Scheduled for just the month of December, the fundraiser has a target of $30,000. With just eight days left until the end of the month, Lewis admits it hasn’t done as well as they had hoped, with only $3,565 raised as of Dec. 22, adding up to about 12 per cent, donated by 21 individuals.

Some statistics listed on the online fundraising platform show what donations will be allocated towards per child:

$10: a healthy snack for one week in an afterschool program.
$25: participation in a community-based program for a month.
$100: in-school mentoring match (child and mentor) for 6 months.
$300: summer camp for one week.
$500: a Big Brother/Big Sister Match for one year.
$1,000: 20 children to attend a week-long day camp program.

For parents, he says, Youth HQ is more than just a place for kids to have fun, but provides a point of stability in their lives, especially during the pandemic.

Lewis recounted a thank-you letter from a parent of a child in the BGC program, saying, “it’s given her a chance to be able to leave her children in a place where she knows they’re safe, and that they’re getting good service and it gives her as a mom some space and some quiet time alone.”

For the youth of Red Deer, his advice this year is to stay connected.

“Maybe it’s in a club, maybe it’s a mentor, maybe it’s a family member, but don’t isolate. Find somebody that you can lean in on who just takes you as you are and support each other in that.”

With just over a week left for the fundraiser, Lewis encourages the public to donate in any way they can.

“If folks aren’t in a position to give, we completely understand but if they can share the link out to their networks and spread the word for us because that’s where the power of crowdfunding comes from.”

by Alessia Proietti

A fundraising opportunity to change everything for a child

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