The third annual Shades of Ambition, which began on March 7th, will come to a close at the end of the day on March 27th.
Shades of Ambition is a fundraiser that allows three local charities to compete with each other in a fun way. They do this by starting off with a black and white mural to which they attach coloured tiles as donations are made. The race is to out-sell each other in order to complete their coloured mural first.
This year the three charities were Red Deer River Watershed Alliance who partnered with radio station Sunny 94, Red Deer Regional Health Foundation who partnered with The River and Canadian Cancer Society who partnered with Kraze 101.3.
The three charities are competing to get their share of the prize money provided by Parkland Mall. “Parkland Mall is really involved in their community and we like to support our local charities and this was a good way for us to be able to involve three charities at the same time,” said Krista Dunstan, marketing director at Parkland Mall.
The mall donates the same amount every year. There is a total of $15,000 up for grabs; first prize is $7,500, second prize is $5,000 and third prize is $2,500. In addition the charities will receive all funds raised through the sales of their respective mural pieces.
As of Monday sales this year were tracking behind the sales of last year but are tracking similarly to the first year. However, according to Dunstan, there is still time for more donations to come in and the contest is not over yet.
The tile purchases made between March 7-27th were sold for $10 per tile.
Each tile donation earned the purchaser one entry into their charity’s prize draw, each worth at least $500.
The Canadian Cancer Society had an entertainment package, the Red Deer River Watershed Alliance put together a weekend horseback/cabin package and the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation had a memories package with a camera available to be won.
“We will be doing an announcement at 11:30 a.m. on March 28th and then we will be handing out the cheques, after announcing the winners, and making the draw for the prizes,” said Dunstan.
After three successful years the mall plans on holding the event next year.
The date of Nov. 1st will be the opening day for applications for charities to participate in 2014. It will be posted on the web site when applications are ready.
This year there were more ways to donate than ever. In the past only cash and online donations were accepted. However, this year debit and credit were able to be used to purchase tiles. This will continue in the years to come.
treid@reddeerexpress.com
