New Brunswick’s First Timeraiser Combines Art, Volunteerism & Community.

The United Way and FeelsGood are teaming up to bring art lovers, local non-profits, sponsors and potential volunteers together for an evening of awareness and celebration of local artists and the many organisations that help make the Greater Fredericton Area such a vibrant place to be.

Timeraiser is a volunteer matching fair, silent auction and a night out on the town where participants invest their time instead of money to bid on local art. Those in attendance can offer any number of volunteer hours as a bid towards a great piece of art made by established and emerging local artists. Successful bidders gain art in exchange for their commitment to volunteer at a charity of their choice. Throughout the evening, attendees will meet with various charities and non-profit organizations to find available volunteer opportunities.

Interest in the event has been brewing since the idea was first brought up last year and a call for submissions attracted the attention and support from artists across the country.

“For our first time putting this event together we really wanted to focus on local artists or artists from the general area,” said FeelsGood’s Courtney Steeves. “We reached out to the FeelsGood community and spoke with some of the artists who are associated with Isaac’s Way, and received a great response.”

Timerasier was first conceptualized in 2002 by a group of friends looking to establish meaningful volunteer opportunities in the Toronto area. Since holding their first event in 2004, the Timeraiser model has spread across Canada to over 12 cities coast to coast, generating more than 115,000 volunteer hours for regional non-profits. Timeraiser works with sponsors to pay market value for all art showcased at events and has resulted in more than $690,000 paid to emerging and established Canadian artists. It’s as much a win-win-win situation as anyone could ever hope for.

Jessica Hughes, Community Development Director at the United Way tabled the idea last year as something that might work within the Fredericton area community.

“Numerous times a year the United Way works with individuals and corporate groups to connect them to meaningful volunteer opportunities in their community,” said Hughes. “We recognize that there is a need for skilled volunteers and an enthusiasm from these volunteers to utilize their skills to give back to local charities. What’s great about this event is that we get to support our local artists and show appreciation to our dedicated volunteers.”

For this Fredericton inaugural event, organisers are hoping to raise 1000 volunteer hours.

This year’s event will take place at the former i-Rock location on King Street in downtown Fredericton.

“We were just thinking of places that were accessible and central and the former i-Rock location came up,” said Steeves. “We needed a space that would allow a bit of a flow with space for not-for-profit groups and charities to set up and be able to present to people at the event. We also wanted a good sized area to display the art. It’s a good space and one that needs to be used.”