For this year’s Giving Tuesday, the Penticton Seniors’ Drop-In Centre Society (PSDICS) is launching a new fundraising campaign.
“Thanks for the Toonie – Keeping the dream alive” is the theme for the campaign, which aims to raise $407,142 by ‘virtually’ laying 203,571 Toonies “edge to edge fown Main Street from Skaha Lake to Okanagan Lake,” according to a release.
“December 3rd is the perfect day to launch this unique and exciting campaign”, said PSDICS president Mignonne Wood in the release. “That day is ‘Giving Tuesday’ throughout Canada and, hopefully, it will encourage our members and the community to give generously to our ‘Thanks for the Toonie’ campaign.”
Before residents get too caught up in the logistics of physically laying over 200,000 Toonies across the city, fundraising chair Karl Crosby clarifies that the gesture is meant to be symbolic.
“We are going to lay the Toonies ‘virtually’ using a 40-foot mural in the centre to show our progress…we will call the mural ‘The Toonie Trail’,” said Crosby in the release.
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Wood added, “We are using the Toonie as the symbol for giving for this campaign. Members and others are being asked to make a donation in any amount to the campaign not just Toonies. Of course, a large donation will move us along the ‘Toonie Trail’ more quickly.”
The release states the mural will be painted by local artist Larry Hunter, who is best known for painting the Penticton visitor’s map. The mural will show major landmarks and more detail will be added as more sponsors sign on.
The first resident to donate to this cause will be Coun. Katie Robinson, who is also the council representative with the society. The launch takes place at 11 a.m. at the centre, located at 2965 South Main St.
Businesses and corporations in the community will be able to partake by purchasing space on the mural to “advertise their business as a ‘seniors friendly’ one.”
Donors can opt to personalize their addition to the moral by including their pet, special occasion or experience added for an additional cost.
“Funds raised by this campaign will be used to replace and repair badly worn and needed equipment and to plan for our future expansion,” said Wood. “The centre is now 20 years old and upkeep is becoming very costly. If we are to ‘keep the dream alive’, we need to raise more money than we are bringing in now with memberships and other activities.”
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