Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Kal Rotary Vernon
November 17, 2020 - 1:45 PM
Having raised $70,000 over the last six weeks, the virtual Kalamalka Rotary Dream Auction is wrapping up this weekend and having one last push for donations before holding an outdoor celebration event Nov. 21.
The club's most lucrative fundraiser, the Kalamalka Rotary Dream Auction raised $340,000 in 2019, but with COVID-19 the annual fall event moved online and is now finishing its six-week stretch of fundraising with an event being held in the parking lot of Kal Tire Head Office, Nov. 21, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Kal Rotary has raised a very respectable $70,000 so far and is hoping last-minute donations can bring this figure even higher.
"Now more than ever, Kal Rotary is committed to finding ways to continue to build strong communities," Kal Rotary Dream Fund chair Brian Reid said in a media release. "We’re asking those who have supported us over the years and community members, to donate to our on-line Dream Fund. If we are to help so many in need, we will need your support. Please donate what you can. Every dollar makes an impact."
Not-for-profit societies in the community are seeing an 80 per cent reduction in donations. But while donations are down the need has increased.
Kal Rotary is dedicated to making sure 100 per cent of donations received go directly to the organizations it supports. Over the last 35 years, the Rotary Club of Kalamalka has raised close to $4.5 million for organizations that support families in the community and around the world.
Through its Starfish Backpack Program, the club has helped to feed children in the North Okanagan. It also built waterparks, skateboard parks and bike trails, and funded hospital towers and low-income housing. Donations from the club have renovated kitchens for community groups and helped with needed transportation. Overseas funds have gone to provide clean water and jobs in Haiti and built schools in Nepal and Ethiopia along with many other projects.
Kal Rotary's Gofundme page will remain open until Nov. 21.
"In that time, our goal is to raise $250,000," Kalamalka Rotary president Dustin Stadnyk said in a media release. "We hope that each and every one of you will help us make a difference in the lives of others."
For more information and to donate to the Kalamalka Rotary Dream Fund 2020 go here.
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