 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
Disabilities gala raises $33,000 Simon Whitehouse Northern News Services Published Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The event brought about 200 people to the Greenstone Building atrium on Nov. 18, raising $33,714 and meeting the group's fundraising goals. Board chair Don Gillis said he was "very happy with the results." The organization canceled its auction last year for what would have been its 31st annual celebrity auction after reporting declining revenues due to competition with other charity events during the holiday season. The council subsequently planned a formal $100-a-plate gala dinner for June of this year, however, a lack of ticket sales and donations caused the group to cancel that event as well. Board members now plan to stick with the November benefit gala as the model for a new and refreshed annual tradition. Though there were mixed reactions to the new venue, it was a risk that the council wanted to take, Gillis said. The event used to be held at the Explorer Hotel. "Everything was laid out a bit differently because of the shape of the room," Gillis said. "It was just a different venue and a different way of setting it up. Some people liked it, some people didn't. That's fair. You don't want all people thinking the same thing." Attendance at last week's event, estimated to have been between 190 and 210 people, represented healthy numbers, though attendance was down by about 50 people from previous years' auctions, said executive director Denise McKee. She said there were probably some limitations on the amount of people who showed up because of no parking placards associated with the Santa Claus parade, and also because of the missed year. "Our board made the decision in September that if we don't hold it this year that we might lose our base that we count on," McKee said. McKee said there were about 330 donations for the silent auction and 25 donations for the live auction as a result of these efforts and that there were largely positive comments from the results. "One thing that people did say was that they missed the bar and there was limited seating," McKee said. However, she said, the council has been open to hearing comments from the community about how to make the event better and is working to make changes where needed. Gillis said he was very grateful for the contributions that local organizations again made to the gala. He highlighted Roy's Audiostronic, which provided a home theatre system, and Canadian North, which donated a free pair of tickets to anywhere the airline travels. The Canadian men's sledge hockey team, who were in town recently to train, donated a hockey jersey signed by team members. It sold for $500. Gillis invites members of the public to visit the council's website to get a better sense of how generous community organizations have been.
|
