5 Ways Your Donation Makes a Difference

We’ve all been there before. We want to give back to our community but don’t know where to start. Or maybe you want to donate to a charity but you’re not sure how your dollars will be spent. It’s normal to wonder, “Will my donation really make an impact?”

Your donation to Trans Canada Trail (TCT) — the non-profit organization that leads the development of The Great Trail — creates an amazing “ripple effect” – empowering local communities across the country and providing a lasting legacy of unity, wellness and goodwill.

Here are five ways your gift to TCT makes a real difference:

You give someone a reason to live — literally.
Trevor Hodgson found renewed hope and purpose cycling The Great Trail in his home province of British Columbia. “It gave me a reason to live,” says Trevor, a native of Kelowna and proud owner of a fully suspended mountain bike. As someone who copes with bipolar disorder, Trevor uses the Trail to stay physically fit, to manage his weight and to combat depression. “When I travel The Great Trail, I experience a connection to this land that opens me up and fills me with a certain life-affirming energy,” he states.
Related – Hope and Healing on The Great Trail.

You can honour a loved one in a lasting way.
Until December 31, 2017, a donation of $1,000 or more will ensure that the name of a loved one — or your own — will be featured in a celebratory pavilion located in our nation’s capital. It’s a truly meaningful and enduring way to honour a loved, while ensuring the future of Canada’s national Trail.

Don’t forget that TCT is a registered charitable organization — meaning that donations are tax deductible. (Income tax receipts are automatically provided for all donations of $10 or more.) Plus, until August 31, 2017, the Government of Canada and Jack Cockwell will each match 50 cents for every dollar you donate!

You help give Canada an epic 150th birthday gift.
24,000 kilometres, in fact! The Great Trail connects more than 15,000 communities just like yours, uniting us across this land for Canada 150 celebrations and for future generations of happier, healthier Canadians. The Great Trail is on its way to country-wide connection this year, and with your support, it will serve as a truly national way to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation.

You empower volunteers.
New Brunswick’s section of The Great Trail is connected, a major achievement made possible in large part thanks to dedicated volunteers. “We get out there and upgrade trails,” says Alonzo Léger, the patriarch of a three-generation clan of Trail volunteers. Volunteers contribute to the work and goodwill of thousands of provincial volunteers, who rediscover the magnificence of their landscape — while doing their part to build a national legacy for future generations. All this good work is made possible with the help of a donation from someone like you.
Related – From Bald Eagles to Flying Squirrels: a Volunteer’s Take on the Trail in New Brunswick.

You help build bridges.
In Saskatchewan, The Great Trail is fully connected across the province. The Canadian Forces (CF) 38 Combat Engineer Regiment reservists helped build the Wakamow Bridge, which was the final piece needed to link the Trail in the land of living skies. While the CF were instrumental in their donation of labour, TCT needed to purchase resources — wood, suspension cable, etc. — to ensure the project was completed. We have more bridges, culverts and paths to build across Canada, so we still need your support!
Related – Saskatchewan’s Section of The Great Trail now Connected.

Still have questions? To learn more about supporting the world’s longest and grandest recreational trail, visit thegreattrail.ca/give/, or call us at 1-800-465-3636.