REGINA — It’s a temporary sigh of relief for Carmichael Outreach.
On Friday, the non-profit organization turned to social media to request donations, warning that services and operations could face reductions after its reserves were depleted.
“We had an exceptionally cold winter, so we were open a lot longer than we were expected to be. That kind of just ate up our reserves because we needed to help people then. And now that we're coming into our summer months, we're noticing that things are a bit tight because those donations that usually carry us through from the community aren't really there anymore,” said Janis Miller, director of development for Carmichael Outreach.
After reaching out to the community for support, Miller said Carmichael Outreach received over $20,000 in donations.
“This will really help us keep going with current operations until the fall.”
Miller explained that the fall and winter season is typically the organization's biggest fundraising period.
“People are usually thinking about donating around the holidays, and when the heat comes, there seems to be a public perception that there isn’t much of a need.”
But visitor numbers show the demand for services remains high, Miller said.
“We are seeing close to 8,000 people a month who come through the doors. We feed close to 7,000 meals every single month. We’re seeing over 20 new families sign up for food hampers or diapers every single month.”
Miller said it's important for people to understand how far every donation goes.
“Twenty dollars covers about five meals, which is pretty big. We also accept all sorts of in-kind donations. If people are feeling like they want to give something like toothbrushes, toothpaste, underwear, socks, diapers or wipes, all of those things go so far,” said Miller.
While donations are critical, Carmichael Outreach is also looking internally for ways to become more efficient.
“Long term, we want to mitigate that where Carmichael is kind of in a better position where we don't have to put out these pleas,” said Miller.
Part of that effort includes strengthening partnerships within the community.
“We're working on that. We're trying to build up more partnerships with community members, grocery stores and other donors, but unfortunately those things take time to implement. That's kind of why we're in the position we're in. But long term, those are going to be solutions that we keep working on so that this isn't something that's happening every month.”
