For those who may or may not know, I sit on the Board of Directors for a non-profit organization called Sonshine Community Services.  They provide second stage shelter and counseling/day home services to women and children fleeing domestic violence.  We’re also in the midst of constructing a Children’s Centre – the first of its kind in Alberta – which offers therapeutic methods to emotionally traumatized children who have witnessed or have been a victim of domestic violence, with the goal to break the domes…tic violence cycle.  We currently have 24 suites at Sonshine Centre and house more children then women right now.

Each year we host the Sonshine Hope Gala, our major fundraising event to raise dollars to operate Sonshine Community Services.  Every year, the organization needs to raise at least $1.5 million on its own to operate.  Sonshine does not receive any government funding, so the Hope Gala is extremely important to the success of the organization each year.  The Sonshine Hope Gala will take place on Friday October 25, 2013 at 6:00 pm at Gasoline Alley in Heritage Park. The evening will be hosted by Darrel Janz of CTV News.  In addition, we have Sally Armstrong, an award winning humanitarian, author & journalist speaking at the event.  The evening begins with a reception and an amazing silent auction, followed by a 3 course dinner.  If you are interested in attending, the tickets are $150/person (a portion given back through a tax receipt) and tables are still available for purchase (also eligible for a tax receipt).  You can go to http://www.sonshinehopegala.com/ to book your tickets now!

Not able to attend, but still interested in helping or donating?  No problem!  Here’s an idea of where your donations can make an impact to the women and children that we serve:

$50 – Provides a grocery gift card for a Sonshine Centre resident for 1 week

$100 – Provides a low income monthly bus pass for a Sonshine Centre resident

$150 – Provides 1 hour of Individual Counseling to a community client

$300 – Supplies waterproof mattress covers for a family suite $500 – Provides 3 sessions of Individual or Crisis Counseling for a Sonshine Centre resident

$1,000 – Supports the summer recreation activities for children from the Sonshine Centre

$3,000 – Sponsor a Sonshine Suite for 3 months

$4,500 – Pays for Sonshine Community Services utilities for 1 month $5,000 – Pays for the design and build of Sonshine’s new website

$8,000 – Provides specialized training in the area of Children’s Trauma  $12,000 – Subsidizes rent for Sonshine Centre residents for 1 month

$50,000 – Upgrades the IT Infrastructure including a new server

Sonshine is a registered charity (#119156412RR0001) and all contributions are tax deductible.