Dawn Froats was the lucky recipient of the Association for Fundraising Professionals national philanthropy award at the recent awards ceremony in Regina.
Froats was named the Outstanding Volunteer Philanthropist for 2019, specifically for the fundraising work she has done in support of the Journey to Hope suicide awareness group here in Moose Jaw.
The award recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond with their fundraising work, and Froats is honoured to have been named.
Her nomination came from Athol Murray College of Notre Dame and the Journey to Hope group, which Froats feels is so important to the community.
“I love the work that [Journey to Hope is] doing within Moose Jaw, and I just know like organizations like that need the funding to be able to continue to do the work,” said Froats.
She has donated over $15,000 to Journey to Hope over the last two years, raised through her personal fundraiser Make Froats Row — where she pledges to put in 100 metres on a rowing machine for every $10 donated to her cause.
The response was overwhelming, said Froats, and she spent over four hours on the rowing machine this year. A handful of generous friends joined her team to help out, rowing the remainder of the distance to equate to the $9,100 that was raised.
Her donations help Journey to Hope provide supports to the community, such as suicide intervention courses from the Canadian Mental Health Association free of charge — which have seen an increase in attendance this year — as well as a number of other resources.
“The community got behind it,” said Froats. “I think everyone's noticing the need for support within Moose Jaw and support for the Journey to Hope, for the work that they're doing. I think people are starting to realize how much they're putting back into the community.”
Froats is hardly slowing down, already planning next year’s Make Froats Row. Her goal is to see it go even bigger and surpass this past year’s goal — maybe even aiming as high as collecting $15,000 next year alone.
She was so impressed to see so many people come together to join the conversation about suicide. Watching her fundraiser develop into a platform of support was a very uplifting experience, said Froats.
“I was just thinking about raising the money, and then when people start having the conversations about how they've been affected or currently are being affected by mental health, and that's when I was like, 'oh man, this is bigger than what I thought about,'” said Froats.
Froats joined the suicide awareness movement for personal reasons, having friends and family affected by suicide in her own life. She is a strong advocate for the work that Journey to Hope does in Moose Jaw, and is grateful to see recognition with this award.
“It's a great honour. It makes me proud to be able to have received it,” said Froats. “Realistically, it makes me realize that I'm doing a good thing, but it also is that Journey to Hope is doing great things within the community, and really that's why I'm doing it, is for them.”
