Big Brothers Big Sisters of Muskoka (BBBS) has launched its first matching campaign called “Be a Matchmaker.”
Until February 26th all donations made to BBBS will be matched by members of the Muskoka Builders Association (MBA). On top of that, Executive Director of BBBS of Muskoka Chrissy King says Simcoe Muskoka Home Comfort will match all donations made before Valentine’s Day on February 14th. She says that’s on top of what the MBA members are matching.
Katy McGregor is the owner of Northern Disposal and Sanitation – one of the nine MBA members that are matching donations. She says the fundraising goal is $2,000. “We thought that would be realistic,” she adds.
With each member matching donations, McGregor says a $1 donation will end up being $10.
“No matter how much or how little you have to give this is the campaign where you are going to make a huge, huge impact,” she says. McGregor suggests not getting a coffee and donating that loose change to BBBS.
“I was a little at one point in my life and I had a big,” McGregor says. “It made a huge impact on my life because I was struggling.”
As a current member of the MBA board, she realized a few years ago that they didn’t have a partner charity. “Big Brothers Big Sisters was at the top of my list because they don’t get a lot of funding,” McGregor says. “They look to people like us for support.”
“You never know who these kids will become,” King says.
Big Brothers Mentoring and Big Sisters Mentoring are two programs run by BBBS. The programs provide young boys and girls with role models to talk with and get advice from. They also have a mentoring program for students
“With Big Brothers Big Sisters of Muskoka we are trying to build a community,” King says of the agency. She adds that the more people that donate, the more they can bring the community together by supporting the kids that “really, really need us.”
You can donate through BBBS of Muskoka’s website.