A local group has come together once again to raise money for charities: 100 Kids Who Care Airdrie encourages kids to earn a little bit of money to collectively donate to a charity of their choosing.
Airdrie resident Kelly Boudreau launched the initiative in 2016, but says the group lost momentum after a few meetings. They tried to get it going again in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made that challenging. Now, five years later, the group is at it again and has already donated $1,070 to one deserving local charity.
Vecova Airdrie was the recipient, which the kids selected at a meeting in October. It’s a charity that supports people of all abilities through providing housing, employment, mental health, wellness and community-access services. The charity is designed to help people live with dignity, purpose and independence.
The kids get the opportunity to nominate three charities they would like to donate to, says Boudreau. Once they have the nominees, they set up a giving meeting where the kids bring their donation and vote for one of the three charities. The one with the most votes receives the money.
“We just get as many kids out as we can,” says Boudreau. “They get to learn about donating and community and public speaking and presentations and voting and socializing.”
Every kid who attends the meeting is asked to bring $10. The goal is for 100 kids to donate, totalling a $1,000 donation. At the giving meeting, the kids get to listen to presentations on each nominated charity before voting for their top pick.
Kids aged five to 17 can be involved, and, if they’re 13 or older, they can join the steering committee, which organizes the giving meetings. Boudreau says the committee aims to have three to four meetings a year, donating to a different charity each time, and the kids are encouraged to earn the money they donate.
“They could do chores, they could have a paper route or their parents or someone could pay them for special tasks,” says Boudreau. “We try to encourage the parents not to just hand them $10, so there’s some kind of engagement where they have earned it.”
In the past, 100 Kids Who Care Airdrie has donated to the Wild Rose Humane Society, Airdrie Health Foundation, Cuddles for Cancer, Strong like Sloane Foundation and Bethany Care Centre.
The next giving meeting will take place at Rival Axe Throwing on Jan. 24 at 12:30 p.m. The committee is planning to arrange another meeting in the spring. To get involved or stay up to date, visit 100 Kids Who Care Airdrie on Facebook.
