CASA GALA RAISES $705K FOR NEW CENTRE
Singers add poignant emotion to evening of generosity and support for mental health
Numbers with many zeros flew around Friday night at the CASA Carnival when a sum of $500,000 was sought to complete a $7-million capital campaign for the new CASA Centre.
“Final figures show we netted $705,000,” Nadine Samycia, executive director of the CASA Foundation, said Sunday.
CASA, provider of services for children, adolescents and their families with mental health issues, will use the money to fit out and pay for other costs for the new centre, such as an IT system.
“We had some 700 guests at our Night on the Bayou at the Shaw Conference Centre,” says Samycia.
“We felt fortunate to have such support when the economy isn’t at its best. Edmonton truly is the City of Champions.”
Capital campaign co-chairs George and Teresa Cantalini, who kicked off the capital campaign two years ago by donating $500,000, set the pace again on Friday. The couple, co-chairs of Friday’s gala, paid $35,000 for a seven-night stay at a five-bedroom Luxus luxury home at Vista Dunes in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The trip, valued at $68,000, came complete with private jet flights donated by Sureway, Chase Wines and Airsprint.
The couple’s real estate developing Beaverbrook Company has been the $50,000 presenting sponsors of the CASA gala for the last three years.
Setting the scene at the event were Samantha Schulz, 26, a Victoria School of Performing and Visual Arts graduate brought back from L.A. home to sing, and St. Albert’s 15-year-old singersongwriter sensation Hailey Benedict.
Both sang their own suitably poignant compositions.
A cash appeal brought in $341,000, with Gino Ferri and Dwight and Brenda Love each chipping in $20,000.
Nick Matera, founder and owner of the MAP Group of companies, put up his hand when auctioneer and St. Albert’s retiring Mayor Nolan Crouse asked for $5,000 cash donations.
Matera put up his hand again minutes later and said: “Make that $50,000.”
Matera also bid $13,000 to fund one publishing of the CASA Youth Council’s Unseen magazine this summer.
Clark Builders chipped in $12,000 to fund another edition of the magazine, which was launched in January this year.
The youth council was formed one year ago and quickly grew from four to 12 members ages 14 to 25.
Members write and collect articles and photos they hope will reduce the stigma of mental health issues and help young people know they are not alone.
One in five Canadians will experience a mental health illness in their lifetime, says the Canadian Mental Health Association.
The youth council’s first edition sold out immediately and two schools contacted CASA asking for 500 copies each so that every student could read the magazine.
Funds for a Parents Helping Parents program, a new CASA incentive, saw the McCoy Family Foundation donate $15,000 and Rulan Contracting $10,000.
OCTOGENARIAN SUPERHERO
At the age of 74, a suntanned Del Dilkie appeared on TV in a black bikini after winning her first bodybuilding competition.
When she was 80, she couldn’t find a place to work out in the Mexican fishing village in which she wintered, so she opened a public gym.
Now 86, she last week helped spearhead a charity luncheon that raised more than $20,000 to help the inner city’s needy.
“Our downtown Rotary Club is celebrating its 101st anniversary and was last year looking for new events,” says Dilkie.
“I hadn’t heard anything of the annual Poor Boys Luncheon broadcaster Bruce Hogle launched some 24 years ago and called him to ask if we might steal the event.”
Hogle, 88, who retired in 1995, was delighted the lunch, a spinoff from his very successful Good Neighbours Fund, would continue.
“There are 100,000 people living below the poverty line in Edmonton and 30,000 of them are children,” said Hogle, whose many community initiatives while working at CFRN (now CTV) earned him the Order of Canada and an Alberta Award of Excellence. “I told Del any time someone steps forward to help made me very happy and I’d be very pleased to see her Rotarian friends take over the lunch.”
The Poor Boys wiener-and-beans luncheon was designed to get supporting business people and others in and out quickly.”
“I pitched the same idea to our Rotary committee and noted it would be easy to arrange by expanding a regular Monday meeting at the Chateau Lacombe,” said Dilkie.
On board quickly were other indefatigable Rotarian stalwarts such as Elexis Schloss, Janet Brown and booker-of-speakers Bill Schloss.
Their lunch was to be called Step Up to the Plate and soup and a sandwich would be served.
Dilkie called friends Tommy Banks and P.J. Perry into making a 45-minute musical stop on their way to previous lunch commitment.
“Lunch was a relatively easy sell at $50,” says Dilkie.
“And many sponsors stepped forward with substantial draw prizes. Some 150 gift boxes offered at the door for $20 immediately sold out.”
“More importantly,” he added, “it costs our future when children are too hungry to learn and can’t access the skills they need to succeed.”
We had some 700 guests at our Night on the Bayou at the Shaw Conference Centre. We felt fortunate to have such support.