You and your dad can cycle in support of housing this Father’s Day.
June 15 will see 40K For Them, a fundraiser aiming to raise money for the WeCan Shelter Society to buy extra land to continue building homes for those in need in the Comox Valley. The fundraiser will see residents cycle 40 kilometers, run or cycle 10 kilometers, and walk 1 kilometer on the vineyard at 40 Knots Winery.
Co-founder of WeCan Shelter Charlene Davis says the fundraiser comes as the society has no more space to build more units at Maple Pool Campground.
“The campground is full, there’s no more sites available and we’d have to wait for someone to move or die to move into them, and that slows our progress in trying to get more homes for the homeless,” said Davis.
“We, as a board, made the decision to go forward with having our own property. If we are lucky to be able to access a piece of land, we can turn it into a complete Seacan community, where we can support the homeless and do more to alleviate the problem we have in Courtenay and get more people a place to call home where they can start over and at the very least, stay safe and clean.”
Davis says by giving those in need a home, it would save a lot of money for the community.
She not only hopes at least 200 people register and take part in this fundraiser, but to raise a large amount of cash to get extra land.
“To buy a piece of property large enough to place 50 of our homes on, it would probably cost $1 million or more, and to do the infrastructure is going to be a few more million after that,” said Davis.
“The number is huge, and you don’t get to that number right off the bat. What we’re going to do is put these gallons of buckets into the lake and hopefully they’ll fill up as soon as possible. Every bit counts.”
She adds that currently they’ve narrowed down a couple of places, with the society working with government bodies during this process.
Registration costs $40, and for children aged 12 and under, it’s free.
Along with a community-after party and cycling, the event will have a table where you can donate to the society.
The event takes place at 40 Knots Winery, starting at 10:00 a.m.
