A group of Burns Lake residents is hoping to gather 100 people willing to contribute $100 each, twice a year, to a local nonprofit.
The idea of creating the group, called ‘100 Burns Lakers who give a damn,’ started during a social media workshop in Burns Lake earlier this spring.
“The presenter was part of a similar group in Vancouver and he told the class about it during his presentation,” said Darrell Hill, one of the organizers of the new group. “Me and several other people who were there thought it would be a great idea for something like it in Burns Lake.”
“After talking to a few people about the idea, and getting nothing but positive feedback, I thought I would try and organize it,” he continued. “And before I could even ask if there was anyone who wanted to help, I had a group approach me asking to help.”
Although the group only has five official members so far, Hill is confident that they can gather at least 100 people before their first event, which is being planned for September 2017.
Members will nominate local nonprofits, and three of these organizations will be selected to make a short presentation during the bi-annual event. Members will then select one nonprofit by secret vote, and the selected nonprofit will receive 100 per cent of the money collected.
“We will be posting and distributing membership sign up forms shortly, but people will also be able to sign up at the door of the event if space allows.”
If the group is successful in gathering 100 people, then a local nonprofit would receive $10,000.
Hill said he hopes this group will help facilitate “meaningful and impactful donations” to local nonprofits while bringing Burns Lakers together who may not know about groups in need of assistance or may not have the time to directly volunteer themselves.
For more information, visit the group’s facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/100BurnsLakersWhoGiveADamn/