The 100 Mile House & District Soccer Association held its biggest fundraiser of the year – Drive 4 UR Community, on June 1.
While it raised approximately $5,100 for the club, the total is disappointingly short of what was possible, says Werner Heine, association sponsorship and communications director.
Ford of Canada donated $20 for every person who test drove a Ford at the six-hour long event, which took place in the Save-On-Foods parking lot. There were approximately 255 test drives made, but if the golden number of 300 had been reached, Sunrise Ford owner Leon Chretien would have kicked in a matching $6,000 donation, for a total $12,000 for the association.
"Our hearts were broken when we didn't reach that goal," says Heine.
He adds support from the general public was good, but the club executive was disappointed with the low response it saw from soccer parents.
"If we'd had better participation from soccer parents, we would have met the goal. We advertised heavily, and there wasn't anybody who didn't know it was on.
“We left a potential of $6,000 on the table, and non-profit organizations don't get that too easily."
The club normally holds a variety of fundraisers each year, but volunteer burnout prompted members to go for a single large campaign this year. Meeting the target of 300 test drives would have allowed the organization to pay off the balance owing on the newly developed 100 Mile Soccer Park, and cleared the way for working towards building a clubhouse.
Heine says that day will now come next spring when the final instalments from field sponsors are paid.
He thanks everyone who supported the club through the test drive event.