News and Events

Recently I watched a documentary film on TV about the 1985 Live Aid concert. It's something of a key point in my own history as the week after this event Sue and I moved overseas to begin working with a mission organization. That in turn led to 25 years involvement in relief and development programs. 

When it came to the part of the documentary that dealt with the concert itself, it showed how for the first part of the concert little or no money was being donated even though the concert was going ahead full bore. You see, most people were into the music and the performances and although the concert was meant to be a fundraiser,there was no one phoning in to make donations.  The connection hadn't been made between the music and musicians on stage and the plight of the people dying of starvation in Ethiopia. That was until David Bowie finished his set one song early and showed a news clip shot by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) he'd seen three weeks earlier.  It was only 6 minutes or so long but it changed everything. The reality of what was happening was put front and center for everyone to see with the result that $320 million dollars was eventually raised.

Without a humungous concert or David Bowie to help us, Careforce often struggles to communicate to ordinary Canadians like you just how important the work at our projects is and how much we need your ongoing support.  This becomes increasingly difficult during the summer.  People's attention is on holidays and doing stuff with family. The tragedy is that we end up in a yo-yo situation whereby we work our socks off in the Autumn and Winter months trying to raise funds to help our partners overseas and then repeat the process during the summer to try and keep our own organization alive - just so we can do it all over again. 

All of this to say, we could certainly use the help of our donors this summer to help with our operating expenses during the slow time of the year.  We also have several important initiatives that you can donate towards at this time as well, just browse the rest of the website and you'll see the amazing things our partners, together with Careforce, are doing.  We thank you in advance.

Philip Chester, President