It’s a concept that is meant to bring the entertainment and glamour of a fundraising gala to your couch.
The event, called Stay at Home Gala, was the brainchild of two Okanagan friends and has now taken off, raising thousands of dollars for charity during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Penticton resident Drew Vincent spearheaded the initiative, which started out with an Okanagan Stay at Home Gala in late March.
“We grossed $23,000 for our local community and during that time we were met with tons of interest from other communities,” Vincent said.
The concept is to have people buy tickets, get dressed up and enjoy entertainment while still practising physical distancing.
That initial event led organizers in other parts of Canada to create their own local events and join up with the national Stay at Home Gala broadcast on Saturday night.
That livestream broadcast included musical performances by the Hunter Brothers and Tanika Charles, speakers and a cameo from Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod of Bodybreak fame.
“Last’s night event was spectacular. I couldn’t have even dreamt of it going so well. We had 22 cities, we grossed nearly $500,000 across Canada,” Vincent said.
“We could never guess that it would go this well.”
Local organizers in other parts of the country said they liked the concept because it allowed them to help raise money to support their communities and bring people together at a time when both of those things can be challenging due to the pandemic.
Stefan Cherwoniak from JCI Canada, a service club for young adults, helped organize the Edmonton event.
“In Alberta, you can’t go out and do real galas, you can’t gather with more than 15 people, you’ve got restrictions on abilities to fundraise,” Cherwoniak said.
“This was a great opportunity that was tried and true out of Kelowna.”
Joining up with the existing national broadcast and framework also made it easier for organizations with limited resources to take part.
“We only have two full-time staff and two part-time staff so to do it on our own wouldn’t have happened,” said Niki Gray, community engagement coordinator with the Community Foundation of Southern Alberta, who helped organize a local event.
More than just being an entertaining time, the galas are also benefiting local charities in the communities where attendees tune-in.
Organizers said the funds raised go to the Community Foundations of Canada
“We choose the foundations because during this time a lot of charities can be forgotten, there is a lot of really urgent need and some charities get more donations that others but the foundations are able to better allocate the funds to really emergency situations,” Vincent said.
With the national Stay at Home Gala in the books, organizers are now setting their sights on a North America-wide event in June.