(Pictured above: Officials with Scotiabank recently donated $5,000 to the UCDSB Champions for Kids Foundation, the proceeds from a matching fundraising pledge given as part of the bank's support of the recent Celebration of the Arts.)
(Cornwall) - Organizers of the recent Celebration of the Arts gathered this week to celebrate the fact the June arts event raised $13,000 for the Upper Canada District School Board Champions for Kids Foundation.
Co-Chairs Karen Murray and Leesa Jarvo-Lauzon accepted a $5,000 cheque Tuesday from Scotiabank at its Cornwall branch. The cheque fulfilled a matching fundraising pledge made by the bank to event organizers. Employees from branches in Cornwall, Avonmore, Vankleek Hill and Chesterville also staffed the gala, selling meal tickets at the door.
“It was fantastic,” said Murray of the event’s success. “We were just overjoyed when we saw the final total. People really pulled through for us.”
Murray said that the money will be a big boost to the foundation and its mandate to help kids in need play sports, enjoy the arts and seek medical and dental care.
“This will help add a little extra to the lives of kids who don’t have much. It will help them participate in sports, see to their medical needs and I think make life a little easier and happier for them.
“The celebration was also great for the kids who donated their work. When they saw their art being auctioned off well … you should have seen the looks on their faces.”
The event took place in June. Organizers collected student art, which was later professionally displayed at a juried art show at the Cornwall Public Library. The top 10 pieces were then auctioned off at a gala dinner and dance June 25, with all proceeds donated to Champions.
During the gala and auction, held at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre, the art sold for prices in the hundreds of dollars. A piece entitled The Boat Scene, a beach scene with boathouses and craft on the water, fetched $500. A unique piece entitled Life and Death, which featured the Grim Reaper, went for $100.
In all, the live auction garnered about $2,700 for the foundation, while a silent auction held at the event earned another $2,000. The dinner made about $3,000 for the foundation.
The fundraiser collected art from grades 9-12 students at eight regional schools: Char-Lan District High School, Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School, General Vanier Intermediate School, Glengarry District High School, Rothwell-Osnabruck Secondary School, St. Lawrence Intermediate School, Tagwi Secondary School and Vankleek Hill Collegiate Institute. Students were given the freedom to choose their topics and the exhibition was open to any medium that could be framed, including paints, pastels, and drawings.
The Upper Canada District School Board Champions for Kids Foundation is the charitable arm of the Upper Canada District School Board. Since January 2008, it has distributed more than $250,000 to help children play sports, enjoy the arts and to seek medical and dental care.
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For more information please call:
Jill Bennett
Fundraising Chair
Champions for Kids Foundation
613-340-3560
Posted July 26, 2010