OLDS — A fifth annual radiothon, held May 21, raised just under $34,000 for Kirsten’s Place, the emergency shelter under construction in Olds.
The radiothon was held in support of the Mountain View Emergency Shelter Society, the umbrella organization for Kirsten’s Place.
It took place at Royal LePage Wildrose Real Estate offices and was broadcast on 96.5 The Ranch Olds from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The auction did really well,” Royal LePage Wildrose Real Estate owner/manager Clare Dickie said during an interview with the Albertan.
She noted that the auction part of the event raised just under $16,000, about $3,000 more than last year.
The total raised overall could grow well beyond the $34,000 mark. The donation line is open until the end of the month.
Dickie said $34,000 is “a long way back” from totals in previous years, but she had an explanation for that.
“We've also had for the last two years, people matching donations, and we had some pretty big donations come in,” she said.
“So yeah, I didn't expect it to reach that this year. There's been a lot of other activities going on that people have been running.”
That said, Dickie still considers the event to be a success.
“I mean, the support of the community is always a success,” she said. “The community has been really amazing.
“Having the radio here, broadcasting inside was really, really good, too, excellent.”
Mountain View Emergency Shelter Society president Joe Carignan is grateful for the community’s support.
He said the money raised will used to help fund shelter operations.
“As there is no public funding at this time we will have to continue to raise funds for operations,” he wrote in an email.
"It is hard to say what our expenses will be but if I look at the budgets of similar sized shelters,I would guess about $1 million per year.
"We are a ways from that but will keep working towards it and hope for some help from the province."
So far, no employees have been hired for the facility beyond executive director Dawn Leonard, who began work for the organization in late January.
Carignan said construction of Kirsten’s Place, which began May 1 last year, is nearly complete, but it’s too early to say when it will be officially opened.
“We have to install concrete pads at the base of the staircases and attach the aluminum railings before our final inspection. We are working on this with a couple local people/groups,” Carignan wrote.
Once all that is completed and the society receives its occupancy permit, the next step will be to furnish the building.
“We have purchased all the furniture, so it is just a matter of delivery and setup,” Carignan wrote.
