After-school programs subject of fundraiser

Cause We Care Foundation is keeping kids safe

Two years ago, the Cause We Care Foundation decided parents and children attending Thunderbird Elementary — an inner-city school with many impoverished families — would benefit from an afterschool program that provided a safe place for children who would otherwise be left wandering the streets or home alone.

“It was a trial run for us,” said Carla Greg ory, the foun da tion’s general manager.

“Since then we have raised $78,000 to pay for the Thunderbird program and to fund a spring break program there.”

“It is so beneficial that we now want to expand it and help three other elementary schools — MacDonald, Hastings and Queen Alexandra,” she said.

So next Tuesday, April 21, the foundation will hold an invitation-only gala at the Equinox Gallery on Great Northern Way with the goal of raising $100,000 to fund those programs.

“It’s basically a cocktail party where we will show a video of what the after-school program does and ask people to donate money,” she said.

Three hundred invitations have been sent out.

“The Thunderbird program runs from Monday to Thursday and we now have 53 children, Gregory said.

“They get homework support, mentoring and being at school is a better place than at home alone or hanging around on the street.

“This is a real help to working poor families or single parents who might not be there to collect their children when school ends.”

(The foundation had originally asked The Vancouver Sun’s Adopt-a-School team to recommend a school for afterschool care and was directed to Thunderbird.)

The three other schools have existing after-school programs but don’t have sufficient funds to keep them operating, Gregory said.

“They have budget shortfalls and so we need to help them,” she said.

The foundation was created by women to help single mothers and their children struggling with poverty.

To donate to the Cause We Care Foundation, visit causewecare.org.