Big Brothers raises thousands from gala

INNISFAIL – The Innisfail community has once again rallied behind Big Brothers Big Sisters of Prairie to Peaks.

The local non-profit youth mentoring organization raised more than $10,000 with its Christmas-themed fall gala.

"We raised about $11,000. It was pretty close to what we were hoping for," said Sherry Dijkstra, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Prairies to Peaks (BBBS). "We're quite happy with that amount."

The annual event, held at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion on Nov. 25, is one of two major fundraisers for the organization every year.

About 160 people were in attendance and enjoyed dinner and dancing, a silent auction and several raffle draws as well, noted Dijkstra.

"There were four to five businesses in town that held their Christmas parties there," she said. "It was wonderful that the community supported us in that way."

All money raised from the annual gala goes to mentoring programs in Innisfail and the five surrounding communities that BBBS serves, noted Dijkstra.

In addition to raising funds for its own organization, the agency collected donations for the Innisfail Christmas Bureau and families in need.

"Along with their admission fee (tickets) we asked everybody to bring an unwrapped toy for the Innisfail Christmas Bureau," said Dijkstra. "We collected a number of toys for them."

Despite tough economic times facing many communities and families in Alberta, money raised from the gala is really needed at this time, said Dijkstra. She added the funds will go a long way to help programming and will benefit the children.

"It was great that the community came out to support us."

The next big fundraiser for BBBS is its annual Bowl For Kids event that is being held this coming February.