It looks like blast off for the Save Our Space Camp campaign.
Kids and their families paid a quarter million dollars of their money to go on a trip this spring to Eastern Canada, including a stop at a camp intended to give kids a taste of what it means to be an astronaut. Through no fault of their own, that money was taken from them. But they were willing to roll up their sleeves and raise money, and they asked the community to help them.
The campaign didn’t look too promising at the beginning, as raising more than $100,000 in a couple of weeks seemed like an insurmountable task. But St. Albertans showed just what a generous community this is. In a couple of weeks they raised more than $130,000, which shows exactly what a well-motivated group can do.
It turns out they raised more money than they set out to. Several organizers of Save Our Space Camp pointed out the extra funds will be donated to other charities.
The kids learned a valuable lesson about the heartbreaks of life. It’s not whether they happen (they do), it’s how you handle those heartbreaks. Sit on the couch and complain about the unfairness of it all, or get out there with a positive attitude and solve the problem. That lesson can’t effectively be taught; it can only be learned.
Too often, groups eschew fundraising because of the work involved. It’s easier, for example, to go hat-in-hand to entities like city council and ask for funding. The Save Our Space Camp contingent proved, with some hard work and mobilization, that fundraising goals can be realized.
The space camp group really deserves a pat on the back for the monumental task they undertook, and the successful conclusion. Maybe it shouldn’t be concluded just yet.
How about continuing that great fundraising effort to benefit some very worthy agencies in the community? The food bank, Lo-Se-Ca, Salvation Army, library, museum, art gallery and many other non-profits could certainly use a financial boost.
Those kids and families really seem to have a knack for fundraising, so why not keep their campaign going for a couple more weeks? What a great way to say thanks to the community that stepped up for their cause. A couple more weeks of fundraising could make all the difference to those agencies that help those less fortunate and add to the quality of life in our community.
Let’s give them a helping hand too.
