St. Alban's Boys and Girls Club's dream of opening a new youth centre in the Jane-Finch community could receive a serious boost if the organization continues earning support in an online competition.
The club is one of the leaders in Wind Mobile's Best Conversation Ever Charity Challenge and stands to win $50,000 if it comes out on top.St. Alban's has been battling Engineers Without Borders Canada for top spot in the competition. The Charity Challenge is an offshoot of Wind Mobile's Best Conversation Ever initiative in which people can choose one person in the world with whom they would most like to have a conversation. St. Alban's entered themselves into the contest.Chris Foster, the boys and girls club's executive director, said the money will help with construction costs on a much-anticipated centre for teens."We have construction going on right now and the sooner we can get the money, the sooner we can get it open," he said. The project, which was expected to cost $850,000, is currently facing a $300,000 funding shortfall. Foster said fundraising efforts are ongoing, adding that winning the Charity Challenge would enable work to continue unabated."Unless we can raise more money, construction will have to stop at some point until we get the funds," he said.When it is completed, the youth centre will include a recording studio, dance studio, computer lab, teen lounge and meeting space among its many features. It will likely provide a positive environment and creative outlet for roughly 50 youth per day.That will help boost St. Alban's Boys and Girls Club's goal of bringing quality programming in at-risk communities across the city. While the United Way provides much of the organization's funding, additional money is always welcome, particularly when it comes to renovating and creating a new location.In addition to its flagship Palmerston Avenue location, St. Alban's has opened satellite locations in the Jane and Finch, Weston-Mount Dennis and Lawrence Heights communities."We operate out of about 18 different locations in total now and we have thousands of kids using our programs," Foster said.Wind Mobile Chair Tony Lacavera said the Charity Challenge has elicited a surprising - and welcome - number of entries."It's open to all Canadian charities and we've already gotten a lot more submissions than we expected," he said.While Engineers With Borders was leading St. Alban's by more than 100 votes as of the Mirror's press time Tuesday, Foster was hopeful that ground would be made up by the time the contest closes March 7."We've really mobilized a lot of kids and youth to rally around a cause and we hope the votes keep coming in," he said.The charity with the most votes will receive $50,000 and five runners-up will each receive $10,000. To vote, visit http://bestconversationever.ca/charitychallenge