Kamloops Wildfire Fundraiser

DONATE NOW

The Kamloops Canoe & Kayak Club is dedicated to making a positive difference in the community and focuses on providing youth with opportunities to develop physical literacy, healthy lifestyles and leadership skills. Now the Kamloops Canoe and Kayak Club needs your help.

As you know, B.C. is experiencing the worst wildfire situation ever and the state of emergency has been in effect for the majority of the summer. While Kamloops has escaped the fires, the area has experienced smoky skies with an air quality advisory in place for much of the summer that recommended no strenuous outdoor exercise. At one point, the air index was a 48 out of 10!

As a result, we were forced to cancel most of our summer programming including summer camps and the BC Cup #2/CKBC Provincial U16+ Provincial Championships. And our competitive athletes were limited to indoor training (swimming and weightlifting). Despite these challenges and circumstances, three Kamloops paddlers (racing for Burnaby) won a bronze medal in U17 K4 1000m at the recent Canadian Sprint Championships - their first national medal.

The bottom line is that earlier this summer we were optimistically hiring and working towards our biggest and best summer yet. Now we are scrambling as we try to recoup a potential loss of $30,000 in camp revenues. This is substantial for a small club like ours, and not something we can accomplish without help.

Our community and businesses have stepped up significantly, both for emergency response and helping people recover from the wildfires. But local businesses can only do so much and are focusing their efforts on evacuees. And many are also suffering from direct impacts from the fires, the evacuations, road closures, and decreased tourists.

So we are asking our fellow paddlers nationwide to make a small contribution towards our club. At the recent Canadian Sprint Championships alone there were over 1,200 athletes. If every person made a small donation towards the Kamloops Canoe & Kayak Club, it would allow us to remain solvent and continue to offer high quality programs in the Kamloops area.

For every donation of $20 or more, you will receive a tax receipt. And if $20 is too much, please consider donating $10 or even $5. Every dollar makes a difference.

Thank-you for your consideration, we appreciate it.

The Kamloops Canoe & Kayak Club Board of Directors and Head Coach Stan Marek