SUNDRE – A local non-profit group is planning a month-long fundraising blitz as part of an ongoing campaign with a mission objective of expanding its ability to serve the community after being forced a few years ago to scale back operations.
In 2020, funding constraints prompted the Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society’s board of directors of the day to make a difficult decision to reduce the number of hours at the organization’s office, which is located on the west-facing portion of the Sundre Community Centre building, to three days a week from four.
“Of course that’s not optimum for the work that we do,” said Dolores Dercach, chair, adding as an example that there were just shy of 1,100 contacts involving walk-ins and phone-ins at GNP’s office throughout the months of January and February alone.
“That’s a lot, and that’s after Sundre Santas is all over and before the (Community Volunteer Income) Tax Program even started,” Dercach told the Albertan on April 17 during a phone interview.
“So, that’s pretty significant.”
Those contacts include but aren’t limited to seniors who want to know what services are available as well as general information referrals and program inquiries, she said.
“Sometimes, there’s really urgent questions by community members who are facing a wide variety of challenges: food, transportation, mental health, and even more than usual, crisis situations such as the threat of homelessness and family violence,” she said.
“And we’re not a crisis centre,” she added. “But that’s a gap in most towns, and where else are they supposed to go.”
All that being said, the board does not believe three days week provides a sufficient level of service to meet the community’s needs.
“My dream would be to open five days a week and be on-call all the time,” she said.
“Now, it’s not that we’re the only game in town,” she said, adding residents have the option of depending on a given situation either going to emergency or the RCMP.
“Which they do; but also, those places refer people to us,” she said.
The board has since finding itself with little choice but to reduce its office hours been endeavouring to raise enough funds to reverse the reluctantly-made decision, she said.
“And it’s hard. There’s so many worthwhile charitable organizations in town and our base of course is small; you know, we’re not a large population,” she said.
Over the past several weeks, Dercach said GNP has been sending out a couple of teams of two people to visit local businesses to explain the society’s situation and its objective of securing $150,000, which would provide enough funding in the budget to open the office four days a week “with a little bit of wiggle room.”
Residents might anticipate some participating locations in town to ask customers throughout the month of May if they want to contribute a little extra in support of the campaign at the til, she said.
“I think we have eight or nine restaurants and various businesses who are doing that,” she said, adding beyond that, people are being encouraged to consider making a donation.
The society especially appreciates donors who are able to commit to monthly contributions as that provides a greater level of predictability in budgeting because grant funding from different levels of government is never a given, she said.
“A lot of people think we’re a government agency,” she said. “And we are not; we get Family and Community Support Services dollars, but that only covers approximately 40 per cent of our entire budget.”
That by extension means the majority of the society’s budget comes from applying for other grants and foundation funding as well as individual donations from people and businesses ranging in amounts from a few to a few hundred dollars, she said.
As part of its effort to develop customized services that cater to the community, the society had also conducted a needs assessment survey that identified two major priorities: mental health and providing more options for youth, she said.
Those findings ultimately led to the creation of ongoing welcome all sharing circles that include conversations for members of the LGBTQ2S+ community, as well as a mental health focus group.
Additionally, The Den - Sundre Youth Centre opened in 2021 as part of the society’s response to the identified need in the community to offer more outlets for local youth, she said.
“In 2022, we had over 2,000 youth visits,” she said. “For the limited amount of hours that we’re open, that’s pretty incredible.”
Dercach said she also wanted to emphasize that anybody who either comes into the office or calls amid an unfolding personal crisis will get help.
“If somebody comes in with mental health issues – let’s say they’re suicidal – what we don’t do, is we do not give them a 1-800 number to call,” she said.
“Although there are several of those, we sit down and talk to them and make sure we sort them out before they leave the office, even when that means staying past our closing time,” she said, adding there have in the past been instances involving for example a person who walks in minutes before closing after leaving an abusive relationship with only the clothes on their backs faced with the intimidating uncertainty of not knowing where to turn for food or shelter.
“We don’t have all the answers, but we know where to refer them; we know where there are options,” she said. “We’re not going to send them back onto the street without any resources.”
Coming up short on fundraising therefor potentially imperils the sustained delivery of such services.
“A lot of our programs and services would be at stake,” she said when asked what might happen if the goal comes up short, adding the society for the time being at least anticipates being able to continue staying operational for three days a week.
Recognizing the campaign has a lofty goal, Dercach expressed a firm conviction the community believes in the worthwhile work the society does.
“They know that it’s vital,” she said.
Conversely, reaching or even out-raising the campaign goal would enable the society to return to four-day weeks at the office while ensuring sustained program delivery.
Immediately following the May fundraising blitz is the annual Charity Check Stop, which is scheduled for June 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Main Avenue - Highway 27 corridor in front of Freson Bros.
While tap devices had been used the last couple of years, the units proved too cumbersome for the limited amount raised electronically. So, organizers have opted to return to requesting donations by either cash or cheque only, she said.
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