The end of the year is usually the season of giving, however, with so many charities out there, it can be challenging for some to get their message across, and the Richmond News wants to help with that.
The News’ initiative, a brand new website called “Season of Giving,” went live on Thursday, featuring nine local non-profit organizations with links to their donation pages.
“During this kind of season, a lot of not-for-profits have giving drives or charitable donation drives, and they go out to the public either by way of informing them with advertising or by mail,” said Rob Akimow, sales director of the News.
“But a couple of organizations contacted us saying they were concerned about disruptions with the Canada Post service because of strike activity.
“We thought that there was an opportunity for us to blast out their information on an online ‘giving hub.’”
Compared to the traditional way of mailing the request for a donation, the ‘online hub,’ which provides an easy click through to the donation sites, is more efficient and cost-effecitve, according to Akimow.
“If you are sending out a donation card in the mail, that’s great. But then people have to visit the website or mail a check to make a donation,” he said. “But the ‘Season of Giving” website allows them to reach the donation pages of those charities right away.”
The website has an introduction about each featured charity, which helps readers understand what they do and what they need the money for.
“The great thing about Richmond is that we have so many not-for-profits, so there are so many different stories to tell,” said Akimow. “They have done such great work and the public should be able to know that.”
Judy Valsonis, executive director of Touchstone Family Association, said donating is different these days, and there are many charities out there “struggling to get by.
“I think the ‘hub’ is a great idea. There are lots of people out there who do donate and give back to the community. If they knew all the choices they might make different ones or more choices,” said Valsonis.
Marlee Bennett from the Act West Community Foundation said the ‘hub’ gives small charities a chance to be exposed.
“There are always difficulties with small charities like us to get their names out there and to be able to collect donations,” said Bennett.
“We think it is a great initiative to bring awareness to charities that might otherwise not have been known in the Richmond community.”
Charities featured this year are: Richmond Society for Community Living, Touchstone Family Association, Richmond Food Bank, Richmond Centre for Disabilities, Richmond Firefighters Association, Act West Foundation, Health & Home Care Society of BC, Rick Hansen Foundation and Salvation Army Richmond.
For more information, check Richmond.StarLocal.ca/Season-Of-Giving.
