Sault Ste. Marie's SOYA ramping up fundraising
A group in Sault Ste. Marie that's working to address the ongoing opioid crisis is getting its fundraising activities back into full-swing. Saving Our Young Adults - or SOYA - had to halt its usual fundraising initiatives when COVID-19 hit.
SOYA is partnering with Youth Homes on a yard sale fundraiser, which is to be held Saturday and Sunday. The first day was going well - until it started raining.
"Mother Nature didn't cooperate," says SOYA founder Connie Raynor-Elliott. "We'll be back tomorrow from 8:00 to 2:00 on Sunday for the SOYA Youth Homes event."
The founder of Youth Homes, which helps at risk youth find a place to live and learn life skills, says they were planning a basement sale fundraiser just before the pandemic hit.
So since we opened up we decided to get things out of that basement and create a yard sale," says Denis Beaulieu. "So I partnered with SOYA so that we could join together and raise funds for both our initiatives."
Despite the wet weather on opening day, Raynor-Elliott says the yard sale is off to a good start.
"Our community stepped up, we worked at the depot here for nine hours just sorting out stuff," she says. "More donations kept coming in. This morning everybody came in, set up. Lots of people were coming in."
Raynor-Elliott points out that SOYA is a not-for-profit that depends on fundraisers, such as this weekend's yard sale, and she's hoping people will come out for day-two - and that the weather will be more accommodating.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.