The historic White Rock pier collapsed after being hit by a record-breaking windstorm on 20 December 2018. The pier is known as the heart of our city by the sea, witnessing White Rock’s growth and development over the past 100 years. We were devastated to see the collapse of the “heart of White Rock” by the severe windstorm.
The White Rock Youth Ambassadors jumped into action, starting a campaign to raise money for repairs.
Our Pier: A Retrospective
the White Rock Youth Ambassador 2018/2019 team partnered with the City’s Recreation and Culture Department, Communications and Government Relations Department, the White Rock Museum and Archives, and Telus Purefibre to put on the exhibit Our Pier: A Retrospective at the Landmark Pop-Uptown Gallery. After the successful opening night on Valentines Day 2019, ambassadors volunteered on weekends from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. to run the Gallery, which showcased local artist's renderings of the pier, as well as historical photographs and a video of the historic storm. Pictured here is the .2018/2019 team with Mayor Darryl Walker and Coordinator Debbie Ward, sharing a fun Photo-Op at the Gallery
Miss White Rock Snover Gill with 6 year old Ashton, who (with the permission of his parents) donated the contents of his Piggy Bank to the cause, and drew a picture! To thank him, we presented him with his own piece of the original pier.
Crowdfunding
The Day after the storm, our 2018/2019 team launched a go fund me page to encourage members of the community to contribute to the iconic pier. As a group of youth, they sought advice and counsel of the community leaders, getting practical information to protect donations and ensure that contributions enhanced the new pier. They then partnered with Telus Purefiber to further enhance their campaign and with the help of Josh Weston who pledged to match contributions up to $10,000, and a commitment by Telus to donate $25 to our campaign – also up to $10,000 – for every new subscription to Telus PureFibre by June 1.
Pictured here is the 2017/2017 Team on the White Rock Pier
Click to watch Snover Gill, Emma H. and Sarah Zhang appear on CTV morning live to talk more about the pier fundraiser.
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TD Concerts for the Pier
TD Concerts for the Pier feature major US and Canadian based recording artists in addition to showcasing local talent from the White Rock community, and raised money for pier repairs.
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Flanked by Miss White Rock Snover Gill, Princess Emma H. and fellow Youth Ambassadors Sabrina Zeng – who, with other Youth Ambassadors, were involved in the first initiative to start a GoFundMe campaign, within hours of the storm, to help fund repairs – Bezubiak said the question he is always asked about the Friends of the Pier project is “why fundraise?”