These days it’s hard to even buy a cup of coffee for a buck.
But next Thursday, residents of Woolwich will have the opportunity to turn one dollar into a world of change during the Woolwich Youth Centre’s ‘Pay to Play’ night at the Woolwich Memorial Centre.
For just one dollar, members of the community will be able to play two of the activities at the youth centre with all the proceeds going towards the Dollars for Dreams Campaign and the Save the Children Foundation.
“It’s a summer-long campaign and it runs along the idea that every dollar donation that Save the Children receives, they can sponsor a child for the day and feed them and clothe them and provide healthcare,” said Dollars for Dreams president Kelly Lovell, who has also been actively involved with the KW Volunteer Action Centre and decided to develop the program to mobilize youth in the community for a good cause.
The activities at the youth centre include computers with internet access, a pool table, Wii Rockband, PlayStation, X-Box Kinect, board games, a basketball net and other sports activities. Beverages and chocolate bars will also be available for purchase.
Lovell – who just graduated from high school in Kitchener and is heading to the University of Western in the fall – said she chose to donate the money to Save the Children because they were one of the first organizations dedicating themselves to helping children around the world who are marginalized, vulnerable or come from little to no income homes for just a dollar a day.
“I thought ‘how can you sponsor a child for a dollar?’ and I looked into it a little more and I really liked the idea because dollar stores are becoming so popular nowadays and people spend dollars left, right and centre without even thinking about it,” she said.
“I wanted to take that momentum and use that towards a fundraising campaign.”
The youth council at the centre was approached by Dollars for Dreams several weeks ago and asked if they wanted to be involved in the program, and they came up with the idea of having the community come and pay to use the games and activities that are normally free to youth at the centre.
“We thought it utilized all the resources we have here, it’s fairly simple to execute and it would be a good fundraiser and a way to get parents and community members into the centre,” said Jared Dupuis who works at the youth centre.
“The youth can donate their time and money to a good cause. It’s a small sacrifice for a good cause so they were on board with that.”
‘Pay to Play’ is set for July 28 from 6-8 p.m. at the Woolwich Youth Centre in the WMC. It is open to all members of the community, but anyone under Grade 6 must be accompanied by an adult.
For more information email kelly.lovell@impact.org.
