Joe’s Place Youth Centre is one step closer to replacing its nearly 70-year-old power supply that failed last year due to the generous donations of youths and community sponsors.
Dubbed “Project Power-Up,” the organization held a concert in late May that saw more than 200 youths pack into the building to hear the opening indie folk-rock band An Unexpected End and pop-rock headliner The Color, both from Winnipeg.
The Color has played at Joe’s Place several times during its New Year’s Eve “Voltage” parties.
The event generated $8,800, including $4,400 that the youths raised and another matching $4,400 from an anonymous sponsor.
Youth Centre founder Joe Dueck thought the event went well.
“Yes, the ‘Project Power-Up’ concert was surprisingly great, just with how people got on board,” Dueck said, noting Century 21 Insight Realty and Déjà Vu Café sponsored the event and covered all costs.
With the businesses covering those expenses, every dollar the youths raised and every ticket the organization sold was pure revenue and could be doubled, he continued. It was also easy to sell out the concert since the kids knew their tickets would support the centre and this would be their fundraiser.
“… the kids were pretty proud that they were a part of helping the youth centre in that way because that’s a pretty impressive number ($4,400) for youth to raise,” said Dueck.
The youths partied hard and sang along to many songs The Color — known for well-done cover tunes — performed and waved their phones with the flashlight apps turned on.
“So, it was a great time,” he added.
The power failure occurred in 2022 after one of the circuit boxes melted down. Dueck was working in his office when an employee called him to the basement after smelling something odd. They both found one of the boxes crackling and steaming.
“And I’m like, that’s never good,” Dueck recalled.
They called in electricians and SaskPower workers, who then called in an electrical inspector. All three told the centre founder that the system — installed in 1957 — needed to be upgraded, including the transformers.
The electricians performed an emergency repair — the venue was without power for a few days — to address the panel box. While that would hold temporarily, the inspector urged Dueck to make proper repairs, which meant replacing the entire system to meet current electrical codes.
“So we weren’t sure how long we were being given. So we’re trying to raise this money pretty quick and get everything up and running with the current equipment installed,” he said.
The youth organization set a fundraising goal of $100,000 to replace the electrical system and bolster the general operating fund.
Dueck noted that costs for electrical projects in a building of this size could unexpectedly fluctuate — by as much as 20 per cent — if one thing goes wrong. That is why the organization wants to raise as much money as possible before the project starts.
So far, the youth centre has raised $40,000 from matching sponsors and supporters, while other sponsors have promised to match up to $15,000. This means the organization could reach $70,000 immediately if other individuals and businesses donated $15,000.
Joe’s Place is also fundraising to send kids this summer to Kedleston Gospel Camp and its camp in Cypress Hills Provincial Park. Donations can be made through canadahelps.org.
