This summer the Sechelt Seniors’ Activity Centre plans to welcome a new Syrian family of five to the Sunshine Coast, so fundraising has kicked into overdrive.
The centre has been fundraising for the $36,000 needed to support the family since late last year and so far about $14,000 has been raised, according to Joanne Rykers of the centre.
With the Syrian family’s application now starting to move forward in the process, Rykers said the centre is upping its fundraising activities to keep pace.
“I do know that their application has been opened and is being reviewed in Jordan, where they’re living, and so it looks like we’re on track to have them here in the early summer,” Rykers said, noting three fundraisers are planned in the next three weeks to hopefully raise $6,000.
The first will be an educational fundraiser on Saturday, April 22 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the centre, which Rykers hopes will be well attended.
“The fundraiser this Saturday would be really interesting for people to go to,” Rykers said. “It’s only $10 and it’s a two-hour education session on the history and culture of Syria and the Middle East.”
Tickets for the April 22 event can be purchased at the Sechelt Seniors’ Activity Centre in advance and at the door.
On April 29 the centre is hosting a dance with the Creek Big Band from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and also available at the centre.
And on May 5, Strait Coffee is hosting a gourmet dinner, auction and live entertainment starting at 7:30 p.m. at the coffee shop in Wilson Creek Plaza.
Tickets are $100 each and all proceeds will go to the Syrian family set to arrive this summer. The venue is small and tickets are limited so guests are asked to get their tickets early from Strait Coffee.
Rykers said excitement is building as the summer draws near and fundraisers come together to fill the funding gap.
Regardless of what’s raised in the next few months, though, Rykers said the centre is ready to foot the remainder of the $36,000 bill to house and support the family for their first year on the Coast.
“In order to qualify for our application with Canada Citizenship and Immigration, we had to establish that we did have the funds – that we had the financial standing to commit that level of funding,” she said.
In addition to raising money for the family of five, the centre is also taking donations of household goods to furnish their home and make them comfortable when they arrive.
While Rykers said the centre is well supplied now with household items, they are in need of three single beds for the three boys, aged 10, 12 and 14, who will arrive with their mother and father, a teacher and doctor respectively.
If you can help with the donation of a bed or would like to give financially to the effort, call Rykers at 604-885-8910 or stop by the seniors’ centre at 5604 Trail Ave.
