What’s The Challenge STARS has for five individuals on Aug. 27? It’s called Rescue on the Prairies and on Aug. 27, STARS will be taking five influential members from across Saskatchewan to participate in their first fundraiser of its kind.
The participants will be taken to an undisclosed location with only their cell phones to get them home. Described as a “Jail and Bail” event, participants will compete against each other in survival challenges on location and have each been challenged to raise at least $50,000 for STARS.
That evening the participants then return to Saskatoon for a final announcement of total funds raised.
Locally, Carlyle’s Carson Energy employees hosted a BBQ on Thursday, Aug. 13, as a way to help raise funds to support one of the STARS participants, Ron Carson, who founded Carson Energy Services Ltd. in Lampman, SK, in 1974.
“We’ve had a great response,” Carson said. “We were at $49,600 this morning [Aug. 13], so we’ve basically made our challenge, but that’s not going to stop people from contributing because our personal challenge within the company is to raise $150,000 and I see no reason why we won’t make it a go.”
“There’s a challenge within the company, amongst all the area managers to see how much they can raise. I told them that whatever money they raise or pledges they receive from employees, I will match it, so they’re working hard to get those figures higher. And the area managers made the deal that the one who raises the least will be participating in a dunk tank.”
“We’re going to raise a lot.”
Carson went on to say that he expects the others participating in the challenge with him to be aiming higher than $50,000 because of the importance of the service in Saskatchewan.
“STARS has an operating cost of $21 million and that’s per year,” Carson said. “So they have to raise half of that each year because they’re a non-profit organization and our government supports the other half.”
“We need STARS in Saskatchewan, they do about seven or eight heli-trips per day between Saskatoon and Regina, so it’s well used and it’s available to anyone in need of the service, it’s for everybody.”
Carson became involved in this particular fundraising effort through a phone call: “The invitation to participate was an opportunity and challenge to contribute some energy to raising much needed money for STARS, basically for the well-being of all Saskatchewan residents.”
Although Carson has now surpassed the $50,000 challenge, he is determined to reach his personal goal of $150,000 for STARS.
Barbeques were hosted not only in Carlyle, but in Lampman, Estevan, and White City as well to help fundraise for STARS Rescue on the Prairie.
A representative from STARS was helping with the BBQ in Carlyle, Vanesssa Headford, who was happy to answer any questions about STARS and aided in serving the meal alongside Carson Energy employees.
“Five individuals have been asked to participate in this and each one was asked to fundraise $50,000,” she explained. “Right now they’re doing pre-fundraisers to help build that up.”
For more information on the program or to support Carson’s efforts visit https://foundation.stars.ca/rescueontheprairies
*As of Monday, Aug. 17, in the morning Carson had already raised $67,224.
