Making positive strides

Red Shoe Crew 2021 raises $210,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities

Everyday families from all over this province have to face what no family wants or is prepared for – a sick or injured child.

Many of these families have to travel to the children’s hospital in St. John’s for specialized pediatric care.

The Ronald McDonald House is there to help those families by providing a safe place for them to stay together, close to the Janeway Children’s Hospital.

“The Red Shoe Crew – Walk for Families is the largest fundraising event for our House here in Newfoundland and Labrador,” says Christine Morgan, Director, Development and Communications, Ronald McDonald House Charities, adding the event, in its 10th year in 2021, raises on average aabout $235,000 a year.

When Covid-19 hit and the world shut down, they had to devise a plan to ensure money still came in to keep the House running.

“A quarter of a million dollars was an awful lot to swallow last year in 2020,” Morgan says. “It was quite difficult but we managed to reinvent the entire event and thankfully we were able to still raise $226,000 in the pandemic of 2020 with that approach. We were quite proud of the results.”

The walk when you want, where you want approach allowed participants to safely raise funds for the House by setting up a page for donations online, walking themselves or with their bubbles, posting photos and tagging #redshoecrew.

“Logistically from our perspective on the backend of our events it’s quite difficult to manage but our volunteers have been quite exceptional, and we are really proud of everything that they have been able to do,” Morgan says.

Going into 2021, she says, people were getting tired of the virtual aspect so along with the virtual walk when you want, where you want, some communities offered in-person events, with safety measures.

While the community event was able to take place Sept. 25 in Bishop’s Falls, with restrictions, due to the rising number of cases of Covid-19 in Central Newfoundland and Labrador, the community event in Grand Falls-Windsor set for Oct. 2 was cancelled to ensure the safety of families and participants.

However, organizer Chad Haggett set up in the Papa’s Sweet Shop drive-through to safely collect pledge sheets. The Grand Falls-Windsor event raised more than $9,000 and counting in 2021, bringing the 10-year-total to more than $77,000.

There was also a record set in the community of Bishop’s Falls with more than $8,000 raised this year. In a community with a population of approximately 3,100 people, and a committee goal to raise $25,000 in five years, the goal was surpassed.

With the challenges and changes in 2020 and 2021, they didn’t know what to expect, Morgan said during the Final Step event on Friday,

Oct. 8. It was a long and difficult journey through the pandemic, however, sickness knows no economic downturn, it happens any time, and the monies raised is important to keep the doors open and families together. This year’s total funds raised for the NL Hydro presented Red Shoe Crew Newfoundland and Labrador was $210,000.

“Hopefully we will get back to a more consistent opportunity next year but I think it’s going to take a little bit of time because everyone has their comfort level coming in to community-based events like this,” Morgan said.

For now, she says, they are taking the safety-first approach and letting volunteers gauge their own communities in terms of how comfortable they are to do in-person events.

“We will continue to provide that flexibility for our participants so no matter where you are in Newfoundland and Labrador, to be honest, it shouldn’t even have to be in Newfoundland and Labrador, you can walk when you want, where you want in the month of September, take your pictures of sharing your heart and telling us why walking for families is so important to you and tag it on social media and that kind of brings us all together virtually on our social media with the hashtag.”

Online fundraising is proven to have results and leveraging with social media, as there was a 400 per cent increase in revenues through online fundraising in 2020, Morgan says, which was a slow market to tap in.

“If I can thank Covid-19 for anything it’s helping everyone become more comfortable in the online space because it is a proven, more significant approach to fundraising in through that online social aspects,” Morgan says.

“We are doing everything we can now this year to make sure we can be as successful as we can because it is an extremely important event for our organization here in St. John’s.”

The event helps keep their doors open, she says, as every day there is a family knocking on their doors needing their programs and services.

“And it’s essential that we can still stay here and support those families,” Morgan said.

Since opening in 2012, 1,500 families have gone through their doors, with some going back on several occasions for follow-up appointment and treatments.

Geographically, most of the families hail from Central Newfoundland, with 1,131 families between 2012-2020.

“We need to be here and we need to continue to be here for those families that need us,” she says, adding those who are contributing and taking part in these events do make a difference.

“You never know who you are going to help when you are supporting Ronald McDonald House.”

As for other ways to support the House, anyone can visit http://rmhcnl.ca and donate online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Also found there are stories, additional information, as well as upcoming event information, like their next event - Sock it for Sick Kids on Nov. 19.