Two charities in Yellowknife just received major donations from some very generous men.
The 100 Men Who Give a Damn group, started with the sole purpose of donating to local charities, announced around $12,000 in donations for the Northern Youth Leadership and the Foster Family Coalition of the NWT each.
The donations come on the group’s one-year anniversary. When the formal donations are made in the coming weeks, the group will have made five donations to the tune of over $60,000 total to local charities in just one year.
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“It is absolutely amazing,” said Alison McConnell, director of Northern Youth Leadership.
“Yellowknife is a terrific community and to see the community come together last night and support such an amazing cause like Northern Youth Leadership is an amazing feeling.
“I’m extremely grateful and I know all the staff and the volunteers and all the youth send their heartfelt thanks to 100 Men Who Give a Damn.”
Northern Youth Leadership flies in youth from across the territory for a summer camp, paying their flight fees that can range up to $2,500.
Families are asked for a $250 registration fee, but it’s waved for families who can’t afford it.
McConnell says the money will go towards subsidizing those fees and purchasing new equipment for their summer camp.
Similarly, 100 Men Who Give a Damn co-founder Garrett Hinchey says the Foster Family Coalition will use their donation to rebuild part of their own campsite this summer.
The group runs Camp Connections, a summer camp program for youth that are in foster care.
“We’re really excited to help them out with that,” said Hinchey.
“We think it’s a great project and obviously something that’s going to positively impact the community here in Yellowknife, which is what our groups mission is all about.”
The group meets every three months, where each member nominates a local organization to donate to. Three groups are chosen at random, and then members vote on which one they think most deserves the funds.
Their next meeting is on May 24. You can learn more on their website.
‘To have a second shot at it is great’
Originally, the donations made towards Northern Youth Leadership were planned to go towards the Tree of Peace’s A New Day men’s healing program following the group’s November meeting.
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However, a month later they were informed that A New Day is a GNWT-funded program and thus was ineligible for donations.
Hinchey says the group decided that the fairest thing to do was to take the two charities that had also been nominated in November and have them represented at their February meeting.
Northern Youth Leadership was one of those groups. McConnell says she was grateful for the second chance.
“I was so grateful to have the opportunity the first time, and so to have a second shot at it is great,” she said. “The money is really needed for the organization.”
