The Terrace Community Foundation held its first Pick A Pitch Contest on Nov. 15 to celebrate Philanthropy Day at the Terrace Art Gallery.
Ten local non-profit groups participated in the event to pitch their community project to an audience in just 60 seconds, with hopes to win all the money collected from ticket sales.
“It was a high energy event right from the start… there were some very original and imaginative ways of trying to present what are often quite serious issues around town,” says Andrew Webber, vice-chair of the Terrace Community Foundation.
With Philanthropy Day designated as a time to celebrate charitable activities, Webber says the evening event did just that as it brought groups to network with one another and promote their visions. Each group presented in both an entertaining and informative way, with some featuring poetry and costumes.
Chosen as the audience’s favourite, Helping Hands of Terrace walked away with the grand prize total of $2,155. Presented by Helping Hands’ Karleen Lemiski wearing a billboard with information about their cause, their pitch rallied for an improved storage facility for recycled beverage containers collected by the society. Helping Hands then provides funds for medical assistance, such as paying for prescriptions, for residents in the community.
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Tickets were priced at $20 each and saw 70 people in attendance, along with other generous donations to the event.
“It was a pretty incredible prize pool,” says Webber. “And we gave a platform to these groups that perhaps some people in the community hadn’t heard about or they had a new project that they’re working on… that’s super valuable to them.”
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Other groups that participated were the Terrace Art Gallery, ValhallaFest, Kimmunity Angels, St. John’s Ambulance, Terrace Off Road Cycling Association, Ksan Society, Terrace Churches Food Bank, Terrace Hospice Society and Terrace Taiko Dums.
Given the success of their first Philanthropy Day event, Webber says the Terrace Community Foundation looks forward to hosting another one next year and hopes to have more people come to support the presenting groups.
natalia@terracestandard.com
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