Photo courtesy of Paige Procter.
Paige Procter honoured at Manitoba Philanthropy Awards.
The burden of logistics and roadblocks exists only in the world of adults. In 2011, when Paige Procter was 16-years-old, the only question when she was organizing a cancer fundraiser was: who will drive her around?
“Youth have the advantage of innocence. We don’t think about the money — we just have the idea and go with it,” Procter says.
Since then, Procter’s annual event, Coffeehouse to End Cancer, has raised approximately $130,000 for CancerCare Manitoba during its nine-year run.
The fundraising concert event is held every year in Grosse Isle, Procter’s hometown. It features local, amateur musicians, under 30-years-old, from the Interlake region. With each year, the event grows in size and success. The 2018 Coffeehouse to End Cancer raised more than $23,000 — the highest in the event’s history.
Procter’s philosophy that underpins the growing success of her concert series is positivity and optimism. Cancer is undoubtedly a devastating plague that touches almost everyone — however, according to Procter we don’t only have to focus on the negative.
“Cancer doesn’t have to be sad,” Procter says. “The journey doesn’t have to be sad. That’s the stigma I wanted to drive away when I came up with the idea. People have shared their stories with me and taught me that there are positives.”
Procter’s fundraising work has landed her a Manitoba Philanthropy Award. She received the Emerging Leader in Philanthropy honour at the ceremony, which is put on every year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Manitoba Chapter.
“I got quite emotional because it doesn’t seem real. This is just what I do,” Procter says regarding her award. “It also feels weird being honoured individually because Coffeehouse to End Cancer is such a community event — I guess you can’t have the whole community of Grosse Isle to come up and accept the award.”
The Manitoba Philanthropy Awards were held on National Philanthropy Day, Nov. 15.
Manitoba Philanthropy Award 2019 honourees
- Marsha Cowan, Outstanding Professional Fundraiser
- Children’s Hospital Guild of Manitoba, Outstanding Service Group
- Manitoba Pork Council, Outstanding Contributions to Philanthropy (under 100 employees)
- Johnston Group, Outstanding Contributions to Philanthropy (over 100 employees)
- Jim Gauthier, Outstanding Philanthropist
- Paige Procter, Emerging Leader in Philanthropy
This story is featured in the Fall 2019 issue of our Working Together magazine. Download or view the full issue on our Publications page.