Powell River and District United Way will be celebrating its annual campaign kickoff for the first time this September 14 with food, fun and activities for all at Willingdon Beach.
“United Way is very recognizable, but understanding exactly what happens in your community under the United Way umbrella is not always so easy to share with people,” said executive director Dale Lawson. “This is a good opportunity to show people what United Way does in Powell River.”
The plethora of local programs funded by United Way will host informational booths and activities in addition to a free community barbecue.
The event is “extremely” family friendly, said Lawson. Success by 6 initiative will have activities for younger children such as playdough and colouring. The event will also mark the unveiling of the new ORCA (On the Road With Children’s Activities) bus. Mascot Splash the orca will be there to help celebrate.
Older children can take part in demonstrations by Westcoast ACCESS volunteers, who will be teaching bits of their Dog Smart dog training program throughout the day.
Powell River Brain Injury Society’s art studio, Creative Expressions, is planning an interactive canvas painting, where guests will be able to take home a finished product.
Various other booths and activities will be hosted by the organizations that fall under the local United Way umbrella, including Powell River Therapeutic Riding Association, Women’s Health Network and Powell River Model Community Project.
The stage will be host to varied entertainment throughout the day. Highlights include a demonstration by the Ravens wheelchair basketball team, along with performances by Ron Campbell and Debbie Dee.
Food will be provided as well, with a cake donated by Canada Safeway and hot dogs available for all.
The event is the first to celebrate Powell River and District United Way’s campaign kickoff, which typically runs every year from September to the end of November. “That’s when the energy is really put forth in generating funds to fund all the various programs and activities that United Way supports,” explained Lawson.
United Way president Ashley Hull has been wanting to host a kickoff event for a number of years. “I think we want to show that the dollars the community gives in good faith do go out to local causes,” she explained. “We want them to see what kinds of programs are out there and happening because they decided to generously donate to United Way.”
The event also gives programs funded by United Way the opportunity to learn more about each other.
“All the funded programs and agencies can get a feel for what each other does as well,” said Lawson, “so [that] also rallies the support within the infrastructure.”
Most importantly though, Hull is adamant that the event will be fun. Hopefully, this fun will lead to a community connection. “I’m hoping that attendees see a worthy cause, or realize that there’s a program they didn’t even know was supported in Powell River that may be able to support them too,” she said.
Powell River and District United Way Campaign Kickoff runs from noon to 4 pm on Saturday, September 14 at Willingdon Beach. For more information, readers can contact admin@unitedwayofpowellriver.ca.
