Girl with big heart experienced fundraiser, aims to make community a better place
Nine-year-old Catherine Okolita started out cleaning park, now helping hospital
Customized pink sparkly writing on Catherine Okolita’s black Tshirt sums up the nine-year-old’s philosophy — Change the World With Kindness.
The little girl from Fort Qu’Appelle started helping others when she was five.
“We were at a municipal park and it was a disaster,” explained her mother Caralen. “I made the comment, ‘We’re out of here and we’re not coming back until somebody does something about this.’
“That night, while tucking Catherine into bed, she said, out of the blue, ‘I am somebody.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, let’s get to bed.’ And she said, ‘No, mama. I am somebody and you said somebody had to clean up the park. I am somebody.’ ”
Catherine motivated family and Facebook friends to do their bit to beautify the park.
“We had people come with quads and haul out dead trees — it was phenomenal,” Caralen said. “Someone gave Catherine a can of root beer and $20 and she took the money and said, ‘I can do more.’ “
The youngster founded Catherine’s Cause A Community Initiative — where she funnels money she raises to charities.
“She said she wanted to be a seller, so she asked her dad in the grocery store for a $40 loan and she bought Freezies and some pop and pulled them on her Radio Flyer for the July 1 parade,” Caralen said.
Her dad John estimates she earned $200 that day. With the proceeds, Catherine paid back the loan and expanded her business.
“Her and I welded together a larger cart to hold more coolers,” John said.
But business was good and they had to upgrade again. They bought a bigger cart and refurbished it.
Now Catherine sells her wares, including gluten-free sausages, from a fancy red-and-white cart with an umbrella.
A portion of all sales from Catherine’s Cart goes to charity.
“Each year, she got a little bigger because she was getting tired of restocking,” Caralen said.
To assist her in her business, the nine-year-old hired a high school student, but as boss, Catherine writes the cheques and makes the deposits.
The young lady’s business card identifies her as a philanthropist and spreader of kindness and founder of Catherine’s Cause A Community Initiative.
Catherine splits the proceeds from her sales three ways: onethird goes to Catherine’s Cause, one-third is set aside for her education and one-third grows her business.
Her latest venture is hosting an online auction from Feb. 22 to Feb. 25 to support the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Regina General Hospital.
“I want to raise money for new equipment,” Catherine said. “I like helping them because some babies have a hard time.”
More than 125 people have already donated prizes to the auction. A sneak peek of the prizes can be found on Catherine’s Cause A Community Initiative Facebook page.
For pickup of donated items, email Catherine at catherinescause@hotmail.com.
She’s gathered homemade quilts, an autographed ball from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, crocheted items, homemade Ukrainian cooking, hotel stays, gift cards for restaurants and other services.
“Some people see it (on Facebook) and then when we’re picking up donations, other people walk up and say, ‘We want to donate too,’ ” Catherine said. “It just goes on and on.”
“It blows our mind — it’s amazing how generous people have been in coming forward to want to help out with the NICU,” Caralen said.
Last year, Catherine donated $2,090 to the NICU. The family recognizes the need because Caralen’s nephew, Logan, was in the NICU for about a month in 2014.
“She’s done lots of other fundraisers, but she’s been raising funds for the NICU for four years,” said her proud mom. “We’re in a better world because she’s in it.”
Helping is a family affair that includes Catherine’s five-year-old sister, Vivienne, and three-yearold brother, Sterling.
Last year, she gave close to $12,000 to various groups and organizations including the Calling Lakes Eco Museum, the Fort Qu’Appelle Cancer Support Group, the Fort Qu’Appelle public library and the Humane Society.
“She’s helped build a library for a not-for-profit play school in town,” Caralen said. “Every year, she donates books to help grow their library.”
Catherine has received numerous awards for her kind heart.
The latest was last November after she was nominated by the Hospitals of Regina Foundation for a national philanthropy day award in the category of outstanding youth philanthropist.
“She’s a busy girl,” Caralen said.