Kurling 4 Kids: 2021 Campaign

The 2021 Kurling 4 Kids campaign launched last month. Like every year, Curling Quebec will participate in this important event: keep an eye on this space for more details over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, we decided to ask two K4K team members some questions to learn more about this year’s campaign progress during a pandemic. Thank you, Christine Tourigny, Director of Communications, and Stan Fong, Director, for taking the time to answer.

Tell us about the 2021 Kurling 4 Kids campaign. How did you have to adapt your activities because of the pandemic?

The Kurling 4 Kids 2021 campaign honours its superheroes: our volunteers, supporters, nurses and doctors, who help give strength to children that need it most.

Typically, at this time of year, the K4K campaign is underway. In fact, it’s been almost a year since we decided to cancel the main curling event for Curling 2020 for the safety of our participants, volunteers, supporters and organizers. A year later, we are still in a position where we cannot host a curling event, as the pandemic that captured the world remains at the forefront of all of our lives.
Despite the crippling effects of the pandemic and the world being at a standstill, children continue to fall ill and need care and intervention. It is because of this reality that K4K decided to make 2021 a virtual fundraising year.

Has Covid changed the needs and priorities of children’s hospitals? If so, how has Kurling 4 Kids adapted to face those needs?

COVID has not changed the needs or priorities of children’s hospitals in the sense that children still fall ill and need specialized care to heal.

How can Quebec curlers support the K4K Campaign?

First of all, you don’t have to be a curler to support us. It’s just a matter of registering for free as a fundraiser on our website and raising funds, either by soliciting donations from friends and family or even by participating in one of our many monthly virtual events.

Do you have a fundraising goal for 2021?

We understand that because of the pandemic, financially speaking, things can still be a little tight for some, so we’ve set our fundraising target at $250,000. That said, which is different this year, we have made fundraising available for a more extended period (until October) to give people a chance to achieve their goals more easily.

How long have you been a member of the Kurling 4 Kids team, and what motivated you to join this organization?

[Christine] Interestingly, I discovered Kurling 4 Kids through Stan, who brought the event to the Glenmore Curling Club in the early 2000s. I worked there as a bartender at the time and knew nothing about curling. I started my involvement by simply supporting the event. I eventually moved out of the country, but another organizer involved me in fundraising and attending the event when I returned. I gradually became an organizer and now Director of communications.
During my childhood and adolescence, I made many trips to the Montreal Children’s Hospital, and I always received the best possible care. It was an obvious choice for me to get involved and give back.

[Stan] I have been with Kurling for Kids since the beginning of 1999. I was a co-worker of the Kurling for Kids President, Robert Sears, and he held the initial event as an office bonspiel to raise some money for Ste-Justine. I had a great time curling. I then joined Glenmore in the fall of 2000 and quickly fell in love with the sport. I was motivated to continue to help my friend Robert and this fantastic charity. By 2004, I was heavily involved at Glenmore and approached the board to hold a Kurling for Kids event that year, and thus, the 1st expansion to a 2nd curling club was born. In 2018, I was made a Director of Kurling for Kids and am now involved in planning events. I also continue to organize the Glenmore event.

I’m proud of the work we have done over the years, raising over 4 million dollars, and I continue to be motivated to raise funds to help sick kids get healthy. The hospitals need our help to provide the necessary care, and I happily do my part to help them do it because nothing is more satisfying than hearing a story of a child’s life being saved by the equipment purchased by the funds raised from Kurling for Kids.

To join the 2021 Kurling 4 Kids campaign and learn more about how you can help, visit their website here https://kurlingforkids.org/.