Despite the slow economy, the Central Alberta Victim and Witness Support Society hopes to better last year’s fundraising efforts at the fifth annual Helping Hands Harvest Gala on Nov. 5.
Gloria Derksen, executive director of the society, said the slow economy has made it a difficult year for the group.
“We have really seen a decline in the amount of support that we’ve seen this year,” said Derksen. “Community members are still supporting us, but we sure have seen a downturn because of our sad economic climate.”
Last year’s gala raised around $15,000, and the hope is to raise $20,000 this year.
The money raised is used for recruitment and retention of volunteer advocates.
“We provide services to the community, and we do that with grants, fundraisers and donations to our program. Our program is only 60 per cent government funded, so we need to raise funds elsewhere,” said Derksen. “We offer a 24-hour crisis response, so we have a large number of volunteers.”
Derksen added often the society uses the money to buy bus tickets for victims who need to get out of town, or help people find accommodations when the homeless shelters are full.
All services are free and confidential.
Derksen said the need for volunteers has been due in large part to the increase in crime in the area.
“Our program serves a very large geographical area. We cover the 2,000 square kilometres around Red Deer and every year our files are going up by major percentages, especially in our criminal code files. At the end of September, we had over 400 open files,” said Derksen.
The areas covered are: Blackfalds, Clive, Joffre, Springbrook, the Summer Village of Gull Lake, a large portion of Lacombe County, and a large portion of Red Deer County.
Tickets can be purchased at www.victimsupport.ca.
The gala takes place at the Black Knight Inn in Red Deer.
jonathan.guignard@www.reddeeradvocate.com