Bryan Kunkel tees off during the Scotiabank charity golf tournament in support of the Women's Shelter Society in this 2012 file photo. This year is the 20th year for the tourney and this year the Aug. 31 event will run in connection to the Shaw Birdies for Kids program, presented by AltaLink.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Donations made to the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter Society between now and Aug. 31 provide extra impact, as the Shaw Birdies for Kids program presented by AltaLink matches donations up to 50 per cent.
This isn’t the first year MHWSS has participated in the program, however this year the program will be connected to the organization’s annual Scotiabank Group Charity Golf Tournament.
“This is our 20th year for the golf tournament,” Natasha Carvalho, MHWSS executive director, told the News. “This year, we’ve teamed up with the Birdies for Kids to match donations … So it means all 100% of the donated funds in the tournament come to the charity; and then on top of it all, if people make donations, (Shaw Birdies for Kids) match up to 50 per cent of that.”
All funds raised through the program and tournament will go toward MHWSS programming for children affected by family violence, primarily the Summer Adventure Fun and Educational (SAFE) program. Since its inception, SAFE has has had anywhere between 14 and 31 participants each year.
Carvalho is glad MHWSS is once again partaking in the program and she is looking forward to the official tournament announcement.
“We haven’t opened up (registration) yet … We should be doing that by the end of May,” Carvalho said. “People will see when the registration opens … but if they want to donate through the program and have their donation matched separately – regardless of the golf tournament – we have all the links up on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.”
There is no set fundraising goal for this year’s program or tournament; Carvalho is just grateful for continued community support, especially as MHWSS has experienced an increased demand for service since the beginning of the pandemic.
“It’s been a hard couple years for fundraising because we haven’t been able to have our big gala in the past two years with COVID, and some of the smaller things which would normally happen (were cancelled) so we are feeling the crunch of being able to provide what we need,” she said. “While we do receive great core funding from the government, there’s always other stuff we want to enhance, so any little bit really helps us.”
