Two Kamloops organizations were big winners last week thanks to the fundraising efforts of a local man.
Nathaniel Martin was hoping to raise $4,000 to help homeless youth and young people aging out of foster care in the city but instead the Caravan of Care raised $21,125 on Friday, which will be split equally between the United Way and A Way Home Kamloops.
“I still get a bit weepy if I stop and think too long about what happened. There’ll never be enough words to express my gratitude to all these amazing people and my hopes are that the residents of Kamloops can start seeing these vulnerable youth for who they could be,” Martin told NL News.
“I have hopes this might become an annual event to showcase a multitude of industries that care about the future of these vulnerable members of our community.”
All of that money was raised by corporate donors and community members. As part of the caravan, a number of the company trucks then took part in a parade on Friday from Riverside Park to the United Way office on the North Shore. When they got there, drivers dropped off their donation cheques in a drive-by, so as to follow all of the COVID-19 safety protocols.
“For someone like Nathaniel to come forward, completely independent, and rally this kind of support was the encouragement we needed just when we needed it,” United Way Thompson Nicola Cariboo, Executive Director, Katie Neustaeter said. “The Caravan of Care was a wonderful reminder that we never do this work alone, and that good people do great things every single day just because they want to make a better world for all.”
Added A Way Home Kamloops Executive Director, Sadie Hunter, “Community-driven support like this is about so much more than raising dollars. Through action, the community is letting the vulnerable youth in Kamloops know they are not alone, that people care about them, and that they are valued. You can’t put a price on that impact.”
Martin told NL News last week, that he was hoping to raise about $4,000 as part of the Caravan of Care.
Here’s a list of contributors who were part of the 2021 Caravan of Care:
- Brad Johnson – Weir Minerals
- Tyler Christiansen – Cyclone Hydrovac
- Jason Bossert – Sher Holding
- Darcy Anderson – Thompson Valley Restoration
- Katherine Ray – Molycop
- Calvyn Coetzer- BTA Reliability Centered Maintenance
- Jo Berry – RUNClub
- Wayne Richardson – Runners Sole
- Eric Bahnsen – Norcan Fluid Power
- Ed LaPierre- Lapper Security
- Tom Shumka – Global Physical Asset Management (Kelowna)
- Steve Prystie – Polycorp Ltd (Surrey)
- Jeff Winger – Progressive Rubber Industries (Kamloops)
- Garret Hunter – GH Innovations (Kamloops)
- Dr. Miranda Du Preez (in memory of Aaron Monson)
(Photo via Nathaniel Martin)
