Spending a night perched on a scissor lift isn’t Dwight Bergstrom’s idea of a good time, but if it helps raise more money for Prince Albert’s KidSport chapter, he’s more than willing to do it.
For several years, Bergstrom would spend the night on a scissor lift if Prince Albert residents donated $10,000 to KidSport during the month of May. Now, after a one year hiatus, he’s back at it again.
“I had a little health boo-boo last year, so I wasn’t well enough to do it, but I’m in good shape now,” the 71-year-old Bergstrom said with a chuckle. “It is a crazy idea that we came up with.”
Roughly six years ago, Bergstrom and the rest of the Prince Albert KidSport chapter were looking for a unique fundraiser that would help more children from low-income families play sports. Bergstrom remembered pole-sitting fundraisers from his youth, where an individual would sit outside on a pole until local residents donated a certain amount of money.
KidSport tried a similar idea the first year, but with Bergstrom sitting in a scissor lift instead of a pole. However, they quickly realized it was easier to raise money if Bergstrom promised to stay up in the air instead of come down.
“I know lots of people in town, and the comment all the way around was, ‘just tell us how much money we have to raise to put that little ‘beep-beep’ on top of that scissor lift,’” Bergstrom said with a laugh. “Next year we turned it around and the dollar numbers went way up.
“I think just about every year I’ve spent the night on the scissor lift,” he added. “It’s not one of my favourite places to spend a night, but if we can raise $10,000-$12,000, it’s certainly well worth it in my mind.”
This year’s scissor lift fundraiser is scheduled for May 31. That’s the day he’ll be up in a scissor lift for a few hours at the least, and all night at the most. KidSport has had several businesses approach them about hosting the event, but the organization has not decided on a location as of press time.
With May being KidSport Month, Bergstrom hopes local residents, businesses, and community organizations will organize fundraisers over the next three weeks. He said the demand for KidSport funding is greater than ever.
“We do our fundraising, we do get some money from SaskSport through KidSport Sask, but often times we are out of money,” Bergstrom explained. “We just run out of money. There are some other organizations that support kids similarly to what KidSport was, and we’ve been in a situation where everybody’s out of money, so there’s just no chance of these kids getting an opportunity to be in sport if that happens. It’s our worst nightmare if we have applications coming in and we have no money.”
Local groups looking to organize a KidSport fundraiser can contact Bergstrom at dwight@sasktel.net if they want to organize a KidSport fundraiser. He said it can be something as simple as proceeds from a Dress-down Friday event, or something more elaborate.
Residents can also donate individually online by visiting weblink.donorperfect.com/KidSportPrinceAlbert/KidSportPrinceAlbertScissorLift
KidSport has identified Prince Albert as an area with one of the highest percentage of children living below the poverty line in Saskatchewan.
“Kids who live below the poverty level are most likely to become at-risk kids,” reads a KidSport Prince Albert press release. “One of the best ways to support youth is to remove all barriers that prevent them from benefiting from their inclusion in positive activities. Some of these are financial barriers.”
Any organization or person who donates $20 or more will receive a tax-deductible receipt and their names will go into a draw for a brand-new bike donated by Fresh Air Experience.