For more than four decades, the Calgary Children’s Foundation (CCF) has been helping local small charities help others across the city.
“The Calgary Children’s Foundation of course raises money one day each year in early December and then in the spring,” CCF administrator Betty Jo Kaiser said.
“The board of the Children’s Foundation get together and they decide which charities are going to receive the funds… Then, in June and July and August and September, we get rid of all that money.”
Since 1974, 770 CHQR Radio, in partnership with Westin Calgary, has been collecting donations from its listeners during the single day fundraising event called Pledge Day.
READ MORE: $265,800 raised for Calgary Children’s Foundation on 2018 Pledge Day
This year, over 30 local children’s charities benefited from the funds raised on Pledge Day last December. Believe in the Gold was one of them.
“Believe in the Gold started because of my amazing daughter,” said Shonalie Biafore, whose daughter Jacey Uphill lost her battle with cancer in 2012.
“When she was sick, she was 16 years old and she started to see some holes in the system. Her research was 50 years old, nobody knew what the gold ribbon meant and that families were paying atrocious amounts of money for the extra things that they needed.”
Biafore said her daughter wanted to fix those holes and so in her honour, Believe in the Gold was founded and now raises money for cancer research while providing financial relief to families who have been impacted by the disease.
The Calgary Children’s Foundation donated nearly $7,000 to the small organization this year.
READ MORE: Calgary Children’s Foundation finds niche in helping grassroots charities
More than $270,000 was raised last year and the final cheques to charities were distributed this past weekend.
“Ninety per cent of the donations we raise in December are all gone by September,” said Kaiser, who visited three charities on the weekend.
An emergency fund remains available throughout the year but the CCF is already looking ahead to Pledge Day this year.
“It just warms the heart to know that our donation can improve their lives, even just a little bit,” Kaiser said.
Pledge Day this year will take place on Friday, Dec. 7 but donations are accepted anytime online at the Calgary Children’s Foundation website.