Donor Profile Archives - Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts

Legacy of Literacy Donor Profile: Debbie Mealia and Jim Budd

Marisa Alps — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 21:37:24 +0000

IG Private Wealth Management financial consultants Debbie Mealia and Jim Budd of Mealia Budd & Associates have been the Festival’s Opening Night sponsors for 15 years. “We felt it was a wonderful opportunity to support our community,” says Debbie. “I have a lot of respect for the organization and how it’s run.” She has a long history of donating time and money to organizations she deems worthy, and as an avid reader and book club member, she looks forward to the Festival every year. “There’s nothing like it,” she says. “It’s a great vibe.” Debbie joined the Festival’s Fundraising Committee to work on the Legacy of Literacy Endowment, a campaign to raise $1 million to provide the Festival with long term financial stability. “I wanted to be part of creating alternative streams of income for organizations like the Festival because I feel it’s more hopeful and sustainable, and it’s going to be more successful. I’d love to see us reach the million dollar mark. That would be the icing on the cake for 2019.”

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Legacy of Literacy Donor Profile: Len Pakulak

Marisa Alps — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 21:33:43 +0000

Len Pakulak has been an ardent Festival supporter for over 26 years. He’s done it all, from swinging hammers while building the Festival Pavilion to slinging drinks at the Festival bar; from serving on the Fund Development Committee to establishing the Lynn Pakulak Endowment Fund in memory of his wife, a former Board member. “I do my little part,” says Len modestly. While the Festival has greatly benefited from Len’s dedication, expertise, and generous donations, his relationship with the Festival has been rewarding for him as well, inspiring him to read more fiction. “It’s opened up a whole new world to me,” he says. He also enjoys serving at the bar during the Festival itself. “I’ve come to know a lot of the regular visitors,” he says. “It’s great to swap stories and catch up on their news.” Len hopes the Legacy of Literacy endowment campaign is successful in reaching the $1 million mark thereby ensuring the Festival’s long-term financial stability. “They’re doing really good things,” he says. “They need to be supported.”

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Thank you, Sunshine Coast Community Foundation

Marisa Alps — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 22:40:23 +0000

The Festival was thrilled to receive a grant of $3,000 to support the provision of real-time captioning at the 2019 Festival. Inspired by the work of Festival author Adam Pottle, real-time captioning will enhance the Festival experience for people who are hard of hearing and make possible the inclusion of people who are deaf. This is a pilot project that we hope will be sustainable through the earnings from our endowment funds that are held and managed by the Community Foundation.

We were also very grateful to receive cheques representing annual earnings from the Lynn Pakulak Endowment Fund and the Marie Steel Memorial Endowment. These presentations were made by Len Pakulak and Doug and Franca Bebb respectively.

The presentations were made at the Sunshine Coast Community Foundation’s annual granting ceremony on Monday, June 17.

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