KidSport Prince Albert recently received a significant donation from Gray’s Funeral Chapel through the Arbor Memorial Foundation.
Garry Gottfried the administrator for Gray’s Funeral Chapel presented KidSport Prince Albert with a $2,500 donation from Gray’s Funeral Chapel from the Arbor Memorial Foundation.
Dwight Bergstrom of KidSport Prince Albert explained that the idea of a donation goes back to May.
“It kind of goes back to the month of May, which is Kidsport Month. And I put a pretty big push on during the month of May. And we did raise about $10,000 through the month of May, and it took him a little while to kind of get on it and get going,” Bergstrom said.
He explained that he received a phone call from Gottfried asking if a donation was okay, ‘better late than never.’
“And I said, ‘It sure is.’ Well, we can sure use it. So that was great. He gave me a call, and we hooked up to do the picture and pick up the cheque, so it was perfect,” Bergstrom said.
Bergstrom explained that the beginning of fall sports in September is a busy time, so much so that they can run out of cash.
“We’ve got indoor soccer going and hockey, and it’s a busy registration time. So it was it was timely that he sent it to us,” he said.
Bergstrom said that they can fund up to $750 per athlete and fund only registrations.
“The average is about $340, something like that. So if you divide $2,500 by $340, that’s kind of where we’re at in terms of the number of kids that would help out.”
“It was very good timing,” he added.
He explained that the donation was also well timed because it lets people know that KidSport needs donations at this time of year.
“Hopefully it will inspire a few other individuals and companies to keep shooting us some cash here at this time of the year,” Bergstrom said.
Bergstrom said to make a donation, you can visit their website at https://kidsportcanada.ca/saskatchewan/prince-albert/.
“Anybody at any time can go and make a donation. Anything $25 or more is tax deductible,” Bergstrom said.
He said that they mostly get small donations, and a sizeable one like this is rare.
“So it all adds up if we just keep picking away at it; that’s the key,” Bergstrom said.
Bergstrom said that he recently had a discussion with some people, and the child poverty is between 28 and 35 percent, either at or below the poverty line. He said that organizations like KidSport and Jumpstart are invaluable to families.
“So there’s a huge need in Prince Albert. We’ve got one of the highest, I think the highest, child poverty rates of any city in the province, as far as I understand,”
Gottfried also appreciates the value of an organization like KidSport.
“As a child growing up, and into adulthood, sports were a very important piece of my life. I was fortunate to have parents that were able to provide the means for me to take part in most sports, but due to costs we also had to be selective, and I wasn’t able to partake in all sports – so I did not make the NHL,” Gottfried said in a release.
“Sports laid the foundation for learning teamwork, participation, and active living, and for the most part kept me out of trouble.And I have also made many friends through sports as well. That is why I see the immense value of the KidSport program that provides for kids whose families don’t have the means to get them involved.”
The Arbor Memorial Foundation is a way for employees across the country to contribute funds throughout the year. From that, a committee dedicated to this foundation opens an application process, so that these funds can be distributed to charities across the country, that are near and dear to the hearts of our team members. Gray’s was thrilled that once again they have approved our donation request.
Gray’s thanked KidSport for all the work that you do to enrich the lives of other’s in our community.
