Helping Hands: A Community Project by Calgary North

By Bob Lockhart
CPC Calgary North
   

 The Concept

Throughout the years at Christmas, Calgary North has donated monies and/or items to charities that have been chosen by the members.  In 2002, the membership of Calgary North embarked on collecting items for use by the Calgary Drop-In Centre.

Two areas were chosen as being desirable for a charity drive: (1) items of use for the Drop-In Centre and (2) toys and gifts for infants under 2 years of age and for children 9 – 15 years of age.  Meetings with the charities and contacts provided to Calgary North resulted in a partnership with a major Canadian corporation and a national media company.

 The Campaign

Partnering with Mark’s Work Wearhouse and Rogers Communications Group’s radio stations – 96.9 JACK FM and the Fan 960, the 2004 campaign’s radio spots started running on November 26th and continued through to December 31st.  A live broadcast from Mark’s Chinook location by the Fan 960 resulted in $5,800.00 in cash donated to the campaign.  Mark’s again provided locations for collection of cash and items for use for the two charities.  Posters and donation cards were produced by Rogers and Calgary North for distribution to the Mark’s locations.  96.9 JACK FM broadcast a live show from the Salvation Army warehouse on December 6th and live interviews were done with the charities and Calgary North. 96.9 JACK FM also provided spots through “Cadillac Jack” during the weekends and at various promotional events running in support for the campaign.

Regal Auction auctioned off cars and merchandise on December 4th in support of the campaign.  Regal Auctions and Bill Brown of Calgary North were able to obtain a 2005 Mustang GT from Advantage Ford which was auctioned off that day.  This garnered additional promotion for the Helping Hands campaign.

Mark’s Work Wearhouse supplied all of the bins and locations for the campaign.  Signage was produced explaining the program as well as listing items of need for both organizations and the information for the draw prizes.  These signs were placed in holders on the bins and the bins were placed in prominent positions in the Mark’s stores.

Logistics for pick-up and delivery of items to the sorting warehouse was provided by the Drop-In Centre.  Items were picked up from Mark’s locations as the drivers were in the various parts of the city.  All items were then taken to the Drop-In Centre warehouse for sorting.  Calgary North members provided the manpower for sorting of the goods collected for the campaign.  Initial problems with space for sorting and the delivery of sorted goods showed the need for Calgary North to obtain space (preferably donated) for future campaigns.

The Results

The success of the 2004 campaign was evident early although there were more problems experienced than in the past years.  Reliance on Mark’s Work Wearhouse for advertising funds resulted in a late start for the planning of the program. Mark’s Work Wearhouse was only able to supply $3,500.00 towards the advertising budget of $8,000.00.  Initial planning provided for greater input and assistance from the charities as in past years; however, budget constraints and personnel changes resulted in some confusion regarding scope of work and use of facilities.  A decision was made by the committee to assume all costs for the campaign and pay for these costs through sponsorships and through monies raised during the campaign. Additional monies may be raised to offset costs for Helping Hands through Calgary North casino funds and from an application made to a private foundation.

Rogers Communications was very pleased with the results from last year and was anxious to work with Calgary North on the 2004 campaign.  Rogers Communications stated that they are pleased to be associated with the Helping Hands campaign and look forward to working on the campaign in the future.  Media awareness for the campaign has grown. Helping Hands was on the Global Morning News Show (December 15th), The A-Channel Big Breakfast Show (December 20th) and articles were written in the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun.

The 2004 campaign exceeded last year’s totals of $18,000.00 and 28,000 lbs. The 2004 totals came in at $20,000.00 and over 42,000 lbs. of goods and items were collected, sorted and donated.  A viral infection in the fall of 2004 at the Drop-In Centre resulted in a shortage of personal hygiene products for use by the clients. Radio spots on the Fan 960 and 96.9 JACK FM resulted in a greater amount of hygiene products donated to the program.  The Salvation Army also noticed a significant increase in the amount of gifts for infants under 2 and for older children 9-15 years raised through their other Christmas toy drives.  This increase was directly attributed to the awareness raised through the radio spots and media articles written about Helping Hands.  Sorting of the donated goods showed an increase in new items as well as greater corporate awareness of the program through donations from employee groups.

The future of Helping Hands now rests with Calgary North.  By assuming more of the responsibility including costs, of the program, Calgary North must ensure that the planning, logistics and implementation of the campaign remains a professional and fiscally sound operation.  Costs for the program need to be offset with sponsorships and grants to ensure that the majority of the monies received during the campaign can be directed to the charities. Earlier and prudent planning can provide greater awareness of Helping Hands to the general public as well as garner support from corporate Calgary.  The current and future success of Helping Hands is and will be the result of a collaborative effort and many hours of work by Calgary North members and its partners.