‘Collecting with QPID’ fundraises for Kingston Youth Shelter

Queen’s Project Initiative Development (QPID) will host their annual fundraiser for youth homelessness—called “Collecting with QPID”—from Mar. 7 to 11 and collect donations for the Kingston Youth Shelter.

“Youth homelessness is a lot bigger [of an] issue than people realize,” Rilee North, QPID community outreach coordinator, said in an interview with The Journal.

“I'm sure people have probably had friends that are couch surfing [or] are frequently in conflict with their parents and can't go home, [and that is] by definition homelessness.”

Collecting with QPID will take place online and in-person at the corner of University Ave. and Union St. on Mar. 10 and 11.

According to North, the organization hopes to raise $5,000 this year for the Kingston Youth Shelter.

“In the past, we raised over $10,000, but last year, since we had delivered our campaign fully online, [we] didn't get the participation that we needed,” North said.

“This year, we're excited to go back in person because we're hoping to increase our financial donations.”

QPID takes a holistic and inclusive approach to addressing homelessness in the Kingston community by going beyond monetary contributions, providing education as well.

“We have multiple diverse things that go into creating a campaign versus just focusing on one monetary aspect,” Rachel Hierholzer, QPID community outreach coordinator, said in an interview with The Journal.

“We are going to be doing a workshop where we're going to teach about mental health and youth homelessness.”

To participate in Collecting with QPID, students can make donations and attend the event. Details are available on QPID’s social media.