November 29, 2011
Sea Dogs don toques to help end youth homelessness in Saint John
Saint John – The Saint John Sea Dogs are showing their support for the Raising the Roof National Toque campaign for homeless youth in Saint John and across the country. On Wednesday, November 30, members of the Sea Dogs were presented with the toques and pose for a team photograph. The toques cost $10 each. Eighty per cent of the proceeds will go to Saint John Youth House, a planned housing facility for homeless and at-risk youth in Saint John. The remaining 20 per cent will help support initiatives across the country.
“This campaign brings added financial resources to address an important issue in this community,” said Colin McDonald, Project Coordinator for Saint John Youth House. “It also raises awareness about youth homelessness in Saint John, and across the country.”
On Sea Dogs TV, Nathan White interviewed Sea Dogs players and Saint John Youth House coordinator Colin McDonald about the toque campaign (play the video at the bottom of this post).
Raising the Roof is a national charity whose mission is to bring about long-term solutions to homelessness. Much of their work is focused on engaging frontline community agencies, corporations, governments, youth and the general public in strategic, collective efforts to alleviate homelessness across Canada.
The Toque Campaign brings together communities – big and small – in a collective effort to “put a cap” on youth homelessness. Past campaign sales have allowed Raising the Roof to grant almost $3.3-million to 145 local community agencies serving the homeless across the country. There are an estimated 65,000 homeless youth across the country. In Saint John, there are approximately 200.
The Saint John Youth House project is an initiative of the Greater Saint John Homelessness Steering Committee, an inter-agency group that works on collaborative solutions to homelessness in Saint John.
For more information, please contact:
Nathan White, Marketing/Communications Manager, Saint John Sea Dogs. Phone: 632-8154. E-mail: nbwhite@gmail.com
Colin McDonald, Project Coordinator, Saint John Youth House. Phone: 721-4781. E-mail: colin@sjhdca.ca
[youtube www.youtube.com/user/seadogstv#p/a/u/2/u7I1WowQFcQ 540 320]