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100 Men Who Give a S#t donate to Concern for Youth

Nov 24, 2016 | 11:00 AM

There weren’t quite 100 of them, but the men of the Battlefords stepped up Wednesday night to donate more than $5,000 to a local charity.

The 100 Men Who Give a S#t had their first official meeting Nov. 23 at the Rock This Way restaurant and chose Battlefords Concern for Youth as their first donation.

Concern for Youth executive director Nicole Fidelak said the donation will make a difference for young people in the community.

“We provide a number of services that aren’t provided by other organizations in town,” she said. “If a young person needs to access services or has a crisis situation, they can contact our staff until 9 p.m. They can contact myself 24 hours a day.”

Concern for Youth provides drop-in services, sports nights, beading nights, leadership workshops and a mentoring program, among other services. They also offer referrals if staff can’t address a young person’s needs properly.  

One Hundred Men weren’t able to confirm the exact amount to be donated to Concern for Youth, as there were men who had signed up to donate but were not able to make the meeting.

The group, which is based off the recently launched Battlefords branch of 100 Women Who Care, meets four times per year. At each meeting, there are three charities who give presentations, after which the men vote on which one they want to donate to. Each man writes a $100 cheque to the chosen charity.

Organizer Matt Pruden said although the group had hoped to reach 100 men for the first meeting, it was a great feeling to make a difference, nonetheless.

“I think what attracts us to this kind of organization is that those of us who have been involved in fundraising know how much work and how many hours it can take to raise this kind of money,” he said. “To be able to just sit down, have a drink with friends and be able to raise that kind of money in under an hour is just amazing.”

 

Sarah Rae is battlefordsNOW’s court and crime reporter. She can be reached at Sarah.Rae@jpbg.ca or tweet her @sarahjeanrae.