Gala lets group keep supporting the community
In 2010, the number of client visits to Christian Counselling Services more than doubled over that of the previous year. The increased client load confirms not only the centre’s need for expanded work space and a larger counselling team, but deeper pockets for the CCS Benevolent Fund upon which 60 per cent to 65 per cent of clients rely for financial help with their counselling fees.
Every year, Christian Counselling Services holds a fundraising event to address such needs. Fundraisers in the past have generally been fun evenings with Christian artists or entertainers on the program. This year the organization is hosting something a little different.
“We’re hosting an evening gala on Friday, March 2, at the Riverside Golf and Country Club,” CCS executive director Heather Tomes says.
Dessert is exquisitely decorated cakes that will be auctioned by the keynote speaker, Phil Callaway, an internationally acclaimed author and speaker. Radio talk show host John Gormley will be master of ceremonies for the evening and Danny Fong will provide the dinner music.
There will also be a silent auction of high-end items like golfing at Riverside Golf and Country Club with John Gormley, rides in the Remax hot air balloon and a gift certificate from a taekwondo studio.
Prepurchased tickets are required for the gala and are avail- able from the CCS office at 244-9890 or through www.saskatoonccs.com. The deadline for ticket purchases is Feb. 24. Since there is a maximum of 200 seats, Tomes recommends to make reservations soon.
Tickets are $75 per person and 50 per cent of the price is tax deductible. People who wish to sit together as a group can purchase a table for eight for $600. Many businesses have already done so.
“This will be an evening of excellence,” CCS development co-ordinator Liens Best says, “reflecting the calibre of service one expects from Christian Counselling Services.” The gala, she says, will be an evening of fun and entertainment with a purpose. “Those in at- tendance will have the opportunity to view a DVD about how Christian Counselling Services began, what it is doing now and how people can partner with the organization to assist the community.”
Best says there are two important ways people can invest in the community through CCS. The first is via the Benevolent Fund, which assists clients who can’t afford to pay the full fee for counselling.
“Without the Benevolent Fund, many people could never avail themselves of the help they need,” CCS board member Charlene Quiring says. “Christian Counselling Services serves a wide variety of people, including newcomers to the city and people in need of support in marriage issues and life chal- lenges like grief and the stresses of life. Employers, too, who see CCS as a valuable place to refer their employees who need help.”
The second partnership opportunity is contributing to the CCS building fund. The organization has been searching for a new facility for some time and has identified an available property. Funds are needed to purchase it and to renovate the building to a usable state.
“We have experienced a season of tremendous growth,” Heather Tomes says, “and similar growth is anticipated this year, so we do need financial support.”
Additional funding would allow Christian Counselling Services to expand its clinical team to meet the tremendous needs that are evident in the community. With an enlarged staff team, they would increase counselling sessions and provide much needed community workshops and therapeutic support groups. None of this is possible in the current facility.
Tomes says a new building would also allow for full wheelchair accessibility.
“We also hope to offer targeted services for children, youth and families,” she says. “We want to recruit a play therapist or a children’s counsellor. Our dream for the new facility is to design and establish a therapeutic room especially for children and youth.”
Organizers of the gala hope to see a wide range of people in attendance — “business people, professional people, and people who want to see lives changed and are interested in helping us meet our goals,” Quiring says.
Quiring was first introduced to Christian Counselling Services when her company began referring clients who were in need of counselling. “Their lives were changed,” she says, “and they became productive employees and contributing members of the community.”
Liens Best joined the administrative board for a similar reason. “People are truly changed by the work of Christian Counselling Services,” she says. “They come in hurt and broken, and walk out whole people who can function and enjoy an abundant life. I am blessed to have a life of abundance and my small contribution is to help others find an abundant life, as well.”