The John Howard Society of North Island is celebrating a big success.
Last Monday’s “Burger, Beer and Silent Auction Night” at Match Eatery raised thousands for Campbell River’s KidStart Mentoring Program.
“It exceeded all of our expectations,” says Tara Jordan, program coordinator. “We were sold out for all three seatings and we raised almost four times as much as I hoped.”
With an original fundraising goal of $1200, organizers were “thrilled” when realizing over $5000 in funds were raised.
And, 100 per cent of those funds are going to KidStart.
Jordan says it seems as though the community is starting to see the value in supporting vulnerable children with mentors.
“More people understand that if they don’t step up to support programs like ours, we face the risk of closing. There’s a lot at stake and a lot of kids that are counting on us.”
KidStart was established shortly after Big Brothers/Sisters closed its doors due to a lack of money.
There are currently 181 children, between the ages of six to 18, on its waitlist.
An additional 47 children are actively being mentored.
Most are from single-parent families who need a little extra support.
“We are entirely grateful for the support. When we do any event and the community shows up like it did on Monday, and we exceed all of our fundraising expectations, it just makes my job a little bit easier. I don’t have to scramble quite as much to do all the fundraising we need to do,” Jordan adds.
