Two Grade 11 students turned their English class assignment into a real fundraiser aimed at helping Regina people who don’t have homes.
Former Estevan resident Taeghen Hack and her classmate Paige Mckenzie launched a GoFundMe campaign called A Helping Hand on March 20.
“My project was researching more about homelessness, especially in Regina. It was just a project that the teacher wants us to do. And we decided to take it even a step further and exceed expectations, so we are doing the actual GoFundMe and we are going to donate the money,” said Hack.
The rest of activities suggested in Hack’s and Mckenzie’s school project will remain only on paper, but when they shared the fundraiser idea online they realized there were interest and support for it in the community.
“We were trying to do it for our project, but now it’s actually getting more attention. People are sharing it on Facebook, on social media, so we are thinking, ‘Wow, this is a really good idea and we could actually help a lot of people.’ So if it’s got even more awareness, even more donations, we could do even more and we could help even more,” Hack said.
They started the fundraiser as soon as they came up with the idea. And it’s been doing quite well, raising over $900 in seven days.
The original goal set under the project was $50,000. And even though the number may seem quite high for a school project, Hack believes on the real problem scale the money is a fraction of what’s needed.
“We know that this is very unattainable, but it’s just a set mark. That is a chip, that’s just a very small chip in what you need to solving homelessness,” said Hack.
Later, Hack and Mckenzie decided to lower the goal to $1,500. And with six days left till their deadline, they seem to be in a good shape.
This volunteer team believes that homelessness is a serious problem, and further down the road, they hope to be able to raise awareness and more funds to help to resolve the issue not only in Regina but across the province and the entire country.
Hack explained that the problem they work with is not homelessness, but “houselessness,” and people who they want to help are in need of real shelter that would allow them to survive over harsh winters.
“They just need a roof over the head; they need protection and safety,” Hack said.
She also noted that in Regina where she and Mckenzie attend Martin Collegiate, the problem is quite visible.
“In Regina, you can be walking downtown, and you’ll see the people who don’t have a house, who are really struggling,” Hack said.
She believes that before proceeding with some solutions those willing to help first should try to figure out the real needs.
“They (people on the streets) need the help, but the thing is that you need to talk to these people and you need to get down and speak with them. Do these people even want a house… (According to their research) some people don’t even want the house, they like what they are doing, they just want a job. There are other people who don’t want to go to a shelter, they just want to get a job, or there are some people who are just totally vice versa, they want the house, they want to work for their house,” Hack said.
The campaign will wrap up on April 1 with all money going to Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Regina.
At the time of publication, there were 19 people in total helping Hack and Mckenzie reach their goal. To join the campaign you can go to A Helping Hand fundraiser at www.gofundme.com.
Or follow the link:
https://www.gofundme.com/z6zy9-a-helping-hand?member=&utm_source=twilio&utm_medium=sms&utm_campaign=contacts-v2-invite-to-donate
