Design Roofing Raises Funds for Our Wish Kids

How it Started

It was at a charity golf tournament in 2017 when Design Roofing’s Vice President Kimberly Wallace caught on to the magic happening at Children’s Wish Foundation. After hearing about a local teen’s wish to Disney World, Wallace stood up and urged the other golfers in attendance to match her on-the-spot $500 donation. Her passion for granting wishes and engaging her family’s commercial roofing business in philanthropy has only grown since.

Flash forward two years

Kimberly is now a board member on the Children’s Wish BC & Yukon Chapter Advisory Board. She proudly donated $51,815 this year, getting all employees at her company involved in the fundraising. Design Roofing registered a team for Children’s Wish’s 2019 TIMBER MART Heroes Challenge event and raised the funds over the summer to grant 11-year-old Muskaan’s wish. Their entire team turned their Port Coquitlam headquarters into festival grounds on Aug. 23 for their Make a Splash fundraiser, featuring axe throwing, a dunk tank, carnival games, bouncy slides, and other activities all going toward their fundraising goal.

In 2018 the company raised over $17,000 during several months of grassroots events – through pub nights, barbeques, and social media. Paired with seven-year-old Macken Leung, who lives with a severe seizure disorder, Design Roofing instantly bonded with the family and raised enough money for Macken and his family to go on his dream trip to Disney World.

Employees Get Involved

While many companies simply write a cheque from their social responsibility budget, Design Roofing believes employees should directly experience the value and reward that comes from getting involved with a charity.

“I looked into a lot of different charities and settled on Children’s Wish for Design Roofing to stand behind,” says Wallace. “They are very transparent with the fundraising and where the money goes. I really like that they can say ‘$10,000 a wish’,” she adds, referencing the average cost of a wish in B.C.

“In the past, we have supported large international foundations and they are all great causes, but I never knew where my money was going, and I didn’t feel like I was making a difference. With Children’s Wish, we meet the child, and see pictures of them and their family. The best part is to see the happiness the wish brought. Everyone at Design Roofing is able to fully understand how important the work they did was.”

Quote from Children’s Wish:

“Design Roofing is one of our most passionate and enthusiastic corporate sponsors. They have jumped into the world of Children’s Wish with both feet and never see a challenge too large – both in business and in their philanthropy. Their dedication is a testament to what a small family business can accomplish. The Port Coquitlam business community should look at Design Roofing as an example of how to engage employees in corporate giving.”

Hannah Smith, Provincial Director, Children’s Wish BC & Yukon Chapter

About Children’s Wish:

In a milestone moment, Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada and Make-A-Wish® Canada have joined forces, with the goal of granting the wish of every eligible child across the country. United as Make-A-Wish® Canada, our mission is to provide children with life-threatening illnesses the opportunity to realize their most heartfelt wish, giving them the strength to endure their treatments and build resilience. To learn more, visit www.thepowerofonewish.ca.

Together, we will grant over 2600 wishes annually by year 5 of the combined organization. With up to 6,000 children in Canada facing a critical illness and complex medical needs each year, this is an important step toward our goal of ensuring every eligible wish is granted.

You can help grant the next single most heartfelt wish. Visit www.childrenswish.ca or www.makeawish.ca for more information and to donate.

On August 23, 2019 we put on a fundraiser at our location in Port Coquitlam. It was a great success and everyone had a fantastic time.
The children we sponsored this year both love the outdoors and playing in the water. So we decided our theme for this year would be sharks!