FCSS to host barbeque fundraiser for United Way
By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Strathmore Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) will be hosting a family-friendly barbeque and movie night in September, also raising donations for United Way in the process.
Members of the community are invited to come out and enjoy a barbeque, leading up to a showing of Disney’s Elemental in Kinsmen Park.
“We wanted to do a movie night and that was sort of the primary focus, and then as the ideas started coming from staff, we tagged on social agencies that would like to come out and provide their information as vendors to piggyback along with the barbeque,” said Budd Brazier, manager of the Strathmore FCSS. “We will have some vendors in the immediate area promoting services such as mental health, Community Futures, True North, FCSS, and then of course, that could lead into a nice barbeque by donation and hopefully feed many families within town for a reasonable rate.”
The event is being hosted as regular FCSS business as opposed to through any specific grant. Brazier explained one of the goals of such events is to raise awareness within the community about what services are available to residents, both through the FCSS, as well as other resources.
Hosting a barbeque and movie night was an idea to have a very family-friendly opportunity for folks within the community to come out, enjoy an evening in the park, and have an opportunity to be exposed to available services within the town.
“We are hoping for about 500 folks in total … it is all free, and if you choose to donate for your food, those donations will be applied to United Way,” Brazier added. “This would be a great annual event, especially what we are thinking in terms of time. September is usually quite nice, it gets dark a little earlier so we could start the movie a little earlier than in the summer months.”
The Town of Strathmore maintains an agreement with United Way in Calgary to receive donations equating to approximately $44,000 annually, according to Brazier, and part of the agreement is to host a fundraiser to give back to United Way once a year.
“They trust us to provide funds to social agencies through an application process … so we are just trying to honour our agreement with the United Way … and also to promote that application process to our social agencies,” said Brazier.
More information about the barbeque and movie night is available online at the Town of Strathmore website, as well as in person at the FCSS office in the municipal building.