Rent Real Estate40,000 Red Toques Fight Homelessness
Raising the Roof, a national Canadian charity that raises
funds to find long-term solutions to homelessness in Canada,
has sold over 40,000 red toques in Ontario and a yet
untallied amount in British Columbia and Halifax. Executive
Director Jennifer Parnell credits a televised, public-service
announcement, featuring Canadian celebrities putting on the
distinctive Raising the Roof toques, with raising public
awareness and sales. Corporate involvement has also promoted
the cause.
If you have a comfortable home, why would you be interested
in this campaign? What has homelessness got to do with real
estate? The thousands of Canadian Realtors who volunteer
their time to raise funds and awareness to help fight
homelessness believe this tragedy undermines the strength
and security of Canadian communities. Anything that affects
a neighbourhood can influence issues from property values to
quality of life factors for those living, working and
shopping locally.
Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver celebrated Raising the Roof"s
Toque Tuesday on January 25, February 1 and February 8,
respectively. Eventually, this charitable organization hopes
to have national Toque Tuesday programs. The knitted red and
black toques, a true symbol of warmth and comfort to most
Canadians, sell for a minimum $5 donation. Raising the Roof
also received over $200,000 in corporate donations.
"There are three needs [to fill] for a national organization
which deals with homeless," said Parnell, who explains that
Raising the Roof was the Canadian National Housing
Foundation until it reinvented itself about three years ago.
"One, we need fund raising for those in the front lines.
Two, we need public education so that people understand
homelessness is more than panhandling and that it involves
men, women and children. And three, those who work on
homelessness need to talk to others who work on the issue so
we can form a national strategy."
When the Toque Tuesday campaigns began in 1998, university
students from one downtown Toronto campus sold 400 toques in
the subways. Now, Toque Tuesday is the kick-off to a week of
comedy events which address this serious subject with
humour. Toronto had a four-day comedy festival and Lank
would like to see this side of the campaign grow across
Canada. This year, sales will exceed 40,000 toques – well in
excess of their 20,000 toque goal.
"We are just touching a small percent of the problem," said
Parnell, explaining that they share the funds with a few
representative agencies in the sponsoring cities.
"We hope to raise $100,000 for 5 partner agencies in the
Toronto area. In Halifax, maybe we can raise $20,000 or
$25,000 this year and the same amount in Vancouver."
Local solutions to this national problem are popping up
spontaneously. A group of Ottawa investment advisors
partnered with two local agencies for the homeless and sold
4,000 toques.
Not having a roof over your head is the simple definition of
homeless but it is not the most accurate. Programs to fight
homelessness must also help those who are under housed,
those who cannot afford support services that help them stay
independent and those who are underemployed or unemployed.
For information on Raising the Roof and Toque Tuesdays:
Phone 416-481-1838 or 1-888-668-0666 (toll-free, Canada); or
visit www.raisingtheroof.org
FYI: "All Eyes on the Federal Budget"
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TCRC) has launched a
campaign to demand that the federal government adopt the One
Percent Solution, a national strategy to end homelessness by
doubling the amount of federal funding for housing and
services. For details, contact TDRC at 416-703-8482 x 411
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