50/50 Cash Raffle supports Na’amat Canada Calgary School Supplies for Kids Program

Na'amat Canada Calgary School Supplies for Kids program provides the Calgary area domestic violence shelters with backpacks filled with school supplies for school-aged children in their care.

(Calgary) – Na’amat Canada Calgary is conducting their 2nd annual 50/50 cash raffle in support of their School Supplies for Kids (SSFK) program. The funds raised will help supply much needed backpacks filled with school supplies for the children taking refuge in Calgary and Southern Alberta domestic violence and homeless shelters this year. “The 19 shelters we will be assisting have requested 1008 backpacks. The cost to fill these backpacks will be over $37,000. This is the most we have had to raise since the inception of the SSFK program 26 years ago. Clearly, needs have increased!” says Stephanie Sacks, SSFK Chair.

Last year, Josh Groberman was the winner of the 50/50 raffle and took home $3090.00, presented by Stephanie Sacks.

Raffle tickets can be purchased until midnight on May 24 at: https://www.rafflebox.ca/raffle/naamatcanada-calgary-yachad, with the winning ticket being drawn on May 25.  Raffle ticket sales will be matched up to 50% by Shaw Birdies for Kids presented by AltaLink (BFK), which is a non-profit program run under the Calgary Shaw Charity Classic Foundation. “The funds raised from this raffle and the BFK matching funds will really make a substantial difference for our program,” says Stephanie Sacks.

Every day of the week children take refuge in Alberta shelters to escape domestic violence and/or homelessness. Typically, these children arrive at the shelters with little more than the clothes on their backs and then are faced with re-entering the school system within days of their arrival. Worries such as not having their own pencil or notebook or a bag to carry their schoolbooks are put to rest when the children receive a backpack stocked with school supplies courtesy of Na’amat Canada Calgary’s SSFK program. After this year’s packing day, which is taking place on June 11, this community project initiated in 1998, will have given the shelters more than 25,000 backpacks and grade appropriate school supplies for the children in their care. Stephanie stated, “over the years we have been very fortunate to have so many wonderful sponsors, supporters, volunteers and members who have helped make these children’s lives a little brighter. We couldn’t do this program without their support.”

Established in 1925, Na’amat Canada is a Jewish women’s non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering the lives of women and children in Canada and Israel of all faiths and denominations. In addition to the local SSFK program, Na’amat Canada Calgary also awards an annual bursary to a female student in her final year of study in the Early Learning and Child Care Diploma program at Bow Valley College. In Israel, Na’amat is the largest provider of social services for women and children. They provide pre-school daycare, and technological high schools and boarding schools for teens who could not succeed in the main stream educational system. The domestic violence shelter in Tel Aviv is a safe haven for women and their children, and also has a counselling centre. There is also a scholarship program for women pursuing university degrees and post graduate research. For more information, see www.naamat.com/calgary.

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