Youth present a $4,500 cheque to the Turning Point Youth Centre. (Submitted photo/Steve Reddekopp)

By Elliott Knopp

TPYC Youth Fundraiser

Youth community garage sale raises $4,500 for Turning Point Youth Centre

Jun 10, 2021 | 5:56 PM

A community garage sale organized by youth from the Turning Point Youth Centre (TPYC) raised $4,500 for the Meadow Lake non-profit.

Malachi Reddekopp, Makayla Reddekopp and Aiden Munroe are the young minds behind the fundraiser. Early in May, the youth told meadowlakeNOW they were looking into how they could give back to the TPYC. They mentioned they have been utilizing the non-profit’s programming for quite some time, and they wanted to support the organization.

Malachi stated he was shocked by the amount the fundraiser had raised for the program.

“I was very surprised we had $4,500. It’s surprising with how many donations we got from people we didn’t know. We want to thank the community for their support,” he said.

Aiden expressed that he also didn’t think the event would’ve reached the large total, adding they had put in a lot of work to make the event successful.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

“We were there every night pricing, and the day we got up at 7 a.m. to make sure everything was ready to go. It means a lot that we had the communities support on this,” Aiden shared.

Makayla commented on her experience with the fundraiser, saying she was “excited and happy” to be making a contribution to the place she loved to go to.

With the money now in the hands of the TPYC, executive director Belinda Martin explained the money will be directed towards operating costs. She clarified that while the TPYC receives grant money, the grants are intended to be spent on specific items involved with the programming rather than keeping the lights on.

“At the youth centre, I like to keep our costs as low as possible, and we’re able to do that because people are donating. So as boring as it is, this money will most likely go into just keeping our doors open,” Martin shared.

She mentioned once she has sorted out how the money will be used, she intends to consult with the young people on what they would like to see added to the youth centre with a portion of the funding.

“It makes me very happy that they love the place enough that they would be willing to go through all of that effort and they want to see this place open for many, many years to come,” Martin added.

The Reddekopp family would like to thank the volunteers who assisted with the setup and clean up of the event.

—

elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp