Airdrie dads came together in a big way July 31 to donate a total of $40,000 to local organizations.
The money was raised by the Airdrie Dads Facebook group, whose 3,200 members put on a charity golf tournament in June. The Boys and Girls Club of Airdrie, Airdrie Food Bank, STARS Air Ambulance and the Nathan O’Brien Foundation each received a $10,000 cheque.
“It’s near and dear to dads’ hearts,” said Steve Gruebar, the golf tournament organizer. “All the charities, probably most of the guys have used, at one time or another – whether it’s the Food Bank, the Boys and Girls Club or STARS, which, unfortunately, gets used sometimes.”
The Nathan O’Brien Children's Foundation is sure to connect with dads, as well. The foundation is named for the Calgary boy who was killed with his grandparents in 2014. His parents, Rod and Jennifer O’Brien, started the fund to put money back into the community for young kids – like a park they built with EvenStart last year, or supporting KidSport to help remove financial barriers for kids in organized sports.
Rod O’Brien said they met with the Airdrie Dads group four years ago when they first held a golf tournament, and it’s been a “pleasure” getting to know them.
“They’re not for profit,” he said. “They’re just a Facebook group, and they’ve really stepped up.”
When the golf tournament started, Gruebar said the group's goal was to raise any amount of money for charities in the community – adding they would have been satisfied with $500.
But, according to him, the group has raised $50,000 throughout the past three years combined, and, this year, saw a big jump.
“We heavily rely on events like this, and donors in general,” said Kristy Campbell, a development officer with STARS. “It’s about 80 per cent funding that comes from events and major donors.”
She said each mission for the STARS crew costs $5,400, on average. The funding received from Airdrie Dads covers nearly two missions – two of which could be out to Airdrie, which Campbell said happened a few times last year.
The local group’s ability to raise this money in such a short amount of time was impressive, she said, and echoed how much these organizations must hit home for the dads.
