Thanks to donations from individuals and businesses alike, 40 children from the Prince Albert community will get to engage in sports this year after a total of $10,000 was raised during Saturday’s Spin for Kidsport fundraiser.
Kidsport committee member for the Prince Albert chapter Dwight Bergstrom said 35 per cent of kids in Prince Albert live below the poverty line. Donations to Kidsport allow children from 5 to 18 years of age that come from underprivileged families to receive around $250 to enroll in various sport programming, “so that all kids can play”.
To put a spin on their annual scissor lift fundraiser, the organization partnered with Desiree Hesson from The Spin S2DIO this year, raising a whopping $2,000 more than their goal amount.
Bergstrom said the idea to partner with Hesson came naturally knowing that she already had a “soft spot” for children’s programming.
“She had already been doing some either no-cost or very low-cost sport programming for financially disadvantaged kids,” said Bergstrom. “It was fun, it created a little bit more interest. We had lots of people going in and out of the studio, spinning, making donations. It created more excitement and encouraged our fundraising.”
Over the last five years, Prince Albert Electrical Contractor Asiil Enterprises has set up one of their scissor lifts for Bergstrom to spend the night on if the donation goal amount is reached. This year it was parked in front of The Spin S2DIO on 15th Street.
Although a game of rock, paper, scissors was supposed to determine whether he or Hesson would be the one sentenced to a night on the lift, Bergstrom said for his last year he decided to do the honours.
“It’s not a real good night of sleep for me, but it’s certainly well worth it to generate that kind of revenue for the kids,” he said.
2022 was the second biggest year for donations, according to Bergstrom. In the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Kidsport Prince Albert raised over $12,000.
Bergstrom thanked everyone who helped out with the event, including The Spin S2DIO, Asiil Enterprises, all the individuals and businesses that sponsored teams and everyone who gave personal donations.
“Without all of that, you just can’t make it go. A big pat on the back to the community of Prince Albert, it’s a pretty good community to support projects like this.”
Kidsport is a national program that operates in all provinces across Canada and in many communities across Saskatchewan. On average, Kidsport funds over three hundred youth a year to be involved in sports in Prince Albert.
