Centron joins Claire’s Campaign as a matching donor!
Raising the Campaign goal to $900,000 and extending the end date to June 6th
In a community where a record number of families spent last night at Inn from the Cold’s Emergency Family Shelter, the Centron Group of Companies has committed $50,000 to Inn from the Cold’s mission to end child and family homelessness through Claire’s Campaign.
With a capacity of 27 families, last night the Inn had to make room for 32 families (120 children and adults) under its roof. “We can’t turn families away,” says Abe Brown, Executive Director, Inn from the Cold. “Children’s lives are at stake. We have to find a safe place for them under our roof .”
Centron committed the $50,000 to raise the matching component of the annual Claire’s Campaign fund-raiser from $400,000 to $450,000. Every dollar invested will be matched up to $450,000 by a commitment of $250,000 from Gary Nissen, $100,000 from Karen Zutter and $50,000 from both the Hutchinson Family and Centron.
“Because of Centron’s commitment today, we are raising the Campaign goal from $800,000 to $900,000 in the hope that Calgarians will leverage these generous donations to double their impact,” says Brown. “Every penny of that money will be directed to providing children and their families with vital supports that ensure the trauma of homelessness is short-lived. We know that to end adult homelessness, we must begin with ending child homelessness because the research shows us that if we don’t, a homeless child today will become a homeless adult of the future.”
Created by Calgary business man and philanthropist, Gary Nissen, Claire’s Campaign, so named after his late mother, Claire’s Campaign has raised over $4 million dollars over its five years. “My personal goal has been to take the Campaign over $5 million,” says Gary Nissen. “Raising the target to $900,000 will get us there.”
This is the first year Centron has contributed to the Campaign. “Contributing to Claire’s Campaign aligns with our Centron Cares core belief in the need to give back to the community,” says Cole Harris, President, Centron Group of Companies. “We worked with Inn from the Cold on their Journey House 2 project and were impressed by their compassion and commitment to ending child and family homelessness. Being part of this Campaign makes sense, not just for the families the Inn serves, but for all of Calgary. Nobody wants to see a homeless child on our streets.”
Along with raising the Campaign goal, Inn from the Cold also announced that the deadline of May 31st would be extended to noon on June 6th. “As we will be announcing our Campaign total at our wrap-up event on June 6th, we’ve extended the deadline for donations to give every Calgarian an opportunity to have their donations matched,” says Brown.
The constant demand in 2018 is putting huge pressure on our resources, so Centron’s late addition to matching makes a huge impact. With just one week left in the Campaign we are urging Calgarians for their assistance, every dollar makes a difference.
Help achieve our mission here.