Burnaby Neighbourhood House’s biggest fundraising event of the year is set for Feb. 18 and there only a few tickets left.
Organizers are putting the finishing touches on the 13th annual Diamond Ball Gala, which includes an auction, dinner, a show and a diamond draw. This year’s theme is Experience Polynesia.
The Neighbourhood House hopes to raise $50,000, according to the non-profit’s executive director, Antonia Beck. The money goes towards keeping the doors open at its north and south locations, and funding programs that don’t always get federal or provincial dollars.
“Often we get funding and they’re very much earmarked for a certain purpose, but the funds we raise, we can allocate them to wherever the greatest need is,” said Beck.
She pointed to a number of underfunded initiatives, including the charity’s Seniors Together Program, which runs Wednesdays and Fridays and provides games, English conversation circles and a light lunch. There’s also the community kitchen program, which brings together low-income families to have lunch and prepare healthy meals to take home, noted Beck.
“Community engagement is an important piece of our work and we want to involve people. As we involve people as volunteers, the Neighbourhood House becomes theirs and the programs are theirs,” she said.
Beck added Burnaby Neighbourhood House’s Sharing Cultures Dinners are also partly funded and need a top-up. About once a month, a committee of local residents organize a dinner around a specific culture (last month was Colombian night).
The Neighbourhood House typically raises about $40,000 each year though the gala, but a little more is needed for operating North House, at its new location at 4908 Hastings St., Beck said.
Since 2014, North House was at the corner of Willingdon and Hastings Street. Because that building was slated for demolition, the developer offered Burnaby Neighbourhood House free rent until it was time to move.
“It was a great opportunity. We had two years of free rent to really build community connections and give ourselves a presence in North Burnaby,” Beck said.
But now that they’re in a new building paying market rent, operational costs have gone up, she added, as staff try to do “more with less.”
Having a Neighbourhood House in that part of town is definitely needed, according to Beck.
“There really isn’t a lot of resources available in North Burnaby that are free and accessible. Often, people think North Burnaby (is) well off economically, but there is a lot of need. There’s lots of rentals and lone-parent families,” she explained. “Whether they’re new immigrants or are just new to the city, it’s really hard to meet friends in the city and I think the Neighbourhood House kind of does that intentionally and provides that opportunity.”
There are only 30 tickets left to the Diamond Ball Gala ($100 per person or $900 for a table). They can be purchased online at burnabynh.ca or by calling 604-431-0400.
The event is at the Firefighters Banquet and Conference Centre, at 6515 Bonsor Ave.
