For a retired military captain who had two friends wounded during military operations in Egypt in 1958, supporting injured soldiers and their families is imperative.
When Ray Blackie learned about the construction of Valour Place, the first military rehabilitation centre to accommodate soldiers’ families in Canada, he wanted to help raise money for its construction.
“We can’t do anything for the ones that got killed, but all we can do is remember them,” he said. “But we certainly can do something for the ones who came home with arms missing, legs missing.”
Blackie has partnered with Valour Place and is selling crystal soldiers for $20 each to raise funds for the project. He will be selling them at Sobeys in Okotoks when he can, and hopes to expand to other grocery stores.
Located in Edmonton, Valour Place is estimated to be completed in June next year, explained executive director Julie Hamilton.
Honourary Colonel of the Royal Edmonton Regiment Dennis Erker came up with the idea for the project, which is to support military families and allow injured soldiers to recover with their loved ones close by, she explained.
“He really saw a need for kind of a Ronald McDonald house for soldiers,” she said of Erker’s vision for Valour Place.
Valour Place will have 12 rooms for soldiers and their families and fundraising efforts have netted $7 million of the group’s $10 million goal, she explained. The group received some funds from the provincial government to help purchase the land, while the rest has come from private donors. She said the next step is to furnish the facility and start an endowment fund to keep the doors open.
Hamilton said she was grateful for Blackie’s fundraising efforts and noted he was doing it all on his own time.
“He’s just really taken this on as a project that is very close to his heart and we’re absolutely delighted that he’s willing to do that,” she said. “He’s passionate about the military, he’s passionate about this project and (we) can’t ask for a better volunteer.”
Hamilton said they bought 500 crystals, and while they will sell 150 of them in Edmonton, Blackie will sell the majority of them.
She said the project’s most important aspect is the awareness it will raise about Valour Place and it will help to grow the organization’s donor base.
“It’s not going to be a huge revenue generator for us, but it’s going to pay off in other ways,” she explained.
Although he recently moved to Calgary, Blackie lived in Okotoks for five years and wanted to launch the crystal soldiers campaign in Okotoks. He said he has received mostly positive feedback about the campaign, and hopes it will take off. Noting how people easily drop $20 at a bar, he said it is a modest amount to help injured soldiers who fought for freedom.
“I would like to see one of these in just about every home across this country so that when you wake up in the morning… it’s in a prominent place, you look at it and it reminds you that freedom is not free.”
For more information about the crystal soldiers campaign or to purchase one, contact Blackie at 403-873-8005 or [email protected]. For more information on Valour Place, visit http://valourplace.ca
