Whether it’s become tradition to attend every year or it’s your very first time, all are welcome to attend Blue Sky Opportunities’ 43rd Annual Fundraising Dinner, coming up in early November.
Ryan Potter, Executive Director at Blue Sky Opportunities, has spent the last few months organizing the event with his team, and is looking forward to providing their community with an evening of wild laughter, delicious dishes, and cool prizes.
The fundraiser will include a chicken marsala dinner provided by New Style Catering in Reinfeld, a wine bar, and raffles. Prizes of note include two Adirondack chairs made at BSO’s very own woodshop.
“We’re very excited to announce Big Daddy Tazz as our local comedian!” Potter continues. “He’s from Winnipeg, and he’s dedicated his time to make fundraising an event that is second to none.”
Big Daddy Tazz has performed a wide variety of shows over the last two decades, and is widely sought after for his ability to bring an audience together through off-the-cuff casual humor and on-point punchlines.
Potter notes that, as of October 2024, minimum wage for direct support professionals will have increased three times, while operational costs have continued to rise with no respite in sight. And so, funds raised at this yearly event will be put towards the purchase of new accessible vehicles.
“When we discussed this around our table, many items came up, but new vehicles was the most important one,” Potter shares. “It’s the most important thing to use because it supports our clients. They’re the reason we’re here today.”
From day services to residential support, every department requires vehicles.
“We need a reliable fleet of vehicles,” Potter shrugs. “Our vehicles are aging. We want our clients to have the same opportunities that we have, to live a barrier-free life and participate in all sorts of activities, but we can’t do that if our vehicles are not reliable.”
At last year’s annual fundraising dinner, Blue Sky Opportunities received enough funds to purchase a vehicle, a wonderous addition that they’ve since used daily. They hope to achieve this goal once again. Looking ahead, goals include family vans for residential applications, and fully-accessible handi-vans for daily operations.
Big or small, all donations are appreciated.
“We will be accepting donations at the event. But really, we’ll also accept donations before and after the event- anytime!”
Blue Sky Opportunities 43rd Annual Fundraising Dinner happens Thursday, November 7th at 6:00pm at the Rhineland Pioneer Centre in Altona. Tickets are 40$, available at the BSO office at 122 10th Avenue NW in Altona or by calling 204-324-5401. Donations can be made anytime by calling Blue Sky Opportunities or by visiting their CanadaHelps page.