Since its beginning as on-site “brass pools,” the Building Trades of Alberta Charitable Foundation has grown into a large and successful organization that has helped numerous Albertans and their communities, providing more than $7.6 million to over 70 non-profit organizations across our province.
The foundation began on Father’s Day in 1991 when volunteers stood outside liquor stores around Alberta to collect donations for D.A.D.s Day (Dollars Against Diabetes). Those raffles developed into fully-licensed events through the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission and in 2001, the Building Trades of Alberta Charitable Foundation was formalized.
The foundation’s focus is not only to raise money for worthy causes, but to also bring unionized labour and industry together at various fundraising events. Events like the annual golf tournament, which we proudly host in memory of Brother John Tackaberry, former director of the BTA Charitable Foundation, bring us together in solidarity to raise funds for important charities. In 2018, the John Tackaberry Memorial Golf Tournament raised $142,895.06 for the charitable foundation. To date, donations from this tournament include $65,000 to the Secord Community Playground, allowing phase one of construction to begin. The foundation completely funded phase two of this playground as well, a pump track for mountain biking. Also, the Glenrose Pediatric Clinic received $30,000 for a much-needed audiology booth. In December 2018, the charitable foundation donated a total of $110,000 to 11 food banks across the province, and a total of $50,000 to five Alberta hope centres.
We’re proud of the grassroots support and hard work our members have put into the foundation to ensure its success. Members have sold tickets at hockey games, walked in support of prostate cancer research, given up well-earned breaks to sell raffle tickets and much more. They do all this because there’s a sense of pride in the foundation that runs through them. And it’s because of this passion the foundation’s legacy will live on through various projects it has supported, like the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital’s Building Trades of Alberta Courage Centre; the $2.6 million raised for diabetes research in Edmonton; or the money donated to help keep STARS air ambulance in the sky. The foundation has left a positive mark on our province and with your support, it will continue to do so.
