Day of Caring radiothon raises over $640,000 for wildfire evacuees before federal government matching

Saskatchewan’s Day of Caring has raised $643,156.30 for the evacuees that were forced to flee their homes due to nearby wildfires. Over 45 Saskatchewan broadcast stations harnessed the power of radio on Thursday to raise funds for northern wildfire evacuees.

The province-wide Day of Caring radiothon aimed to raise as much awareness and money as possible to help the nearly 10,000 wildfire evacuees to start rebuilding their lives.

Glenn Rogers is the Saskatchewan Content Lead for Golden West Radio. He says listeners had the chance to tune in throughout the day to learn more about the initiative and the people it is supporting.

Rogers adds that the federal government is helping out too.

“The Government of Canada is matching contributions through the Day of Caring. For every dollar that comes in from donors, the government will be matching that.” The reported total does not yet include the Federal Government’s contributions.

The Saskatchewan Day of Caring for Red Cross relief donation page will remain open through the weekend, and the Federal Government will continue to match individual donations during this time and a final total including the government’s contribution will be announced on Monday.

Nutrien also stepped up to match donations to the Red Cross, up to $300,000, for a total contributing $343,156.30. All funds raised will go to the Canadian Red Cross Saskatchewan 2025 Wildfire Appeal and then allocated to individual victims from there.

Rogers says similar initiatives have occurred in neighboring provinces Alberta and Manitoba before, but Day of caring is a first of its kind for Saskatchewan.

For those who still wish to donate, they can do so at www.red cross.ca/day of caring.

Participating radio stations and community portals: