Keywords City (required) One of the year’s biggest charity fundraisers in Calgary has been cancelled because of the economic downturn.

“People just weren’t comfortable or ready to make a commitment to the event. I would say we had a reduction of pretty close to 50 to 70 per cent interest,” said Susan Cress, executive director of the AIDS Calgary Awareness Association. Several local charities are scaling back their fundraising efforts, with organizers saying Calgarians are donating less money due to financial pressures. Scholarship fundraiser scrapped On Monday, Helping Youth Through Educational Scholarships (HYTES ) canceled a Valentine’s evening event in Calgary.
The group raises money to send impoverished children from developing countries to school. The event was meant to raise enough money for 150 scholarships. But the organization had only sold 50 of its 200 tickets, despite dropping the price to $75.