Kainai Princess’ water fundraiser springs from ‘a heart for the homeless’

By Herald on June 8, 2021.

Seven-year-old Zoey Black Plume displays her updated graph to showcase the progress of her fundraising for bottled water, which has nearly quadrupled her original goal of $300. Submitted photo

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman – for the Lethbridge Herald

Kainai Tiny Tot Princess, 7 year-old Zoey Black Plume is fundraising to purchase bottled water to distribute among the homeless population of Lethbridge, Standoff and Moses Lake. 

Black Plume asked her mom Giselle last weekend, to create a post on her Facebook page asking people to help her raise money to purchase bottled water for the homeless. 

Her goal was originally set at $300 to buy 1,225 bottles of water with a deadline of June 11, but she has now surpassed $1,100 in less than a week and therefore, has decided to extend her deadline to June 25 to be able to help as many people as possible. 

“I am donating water for the homeless because it’s getting really hot, and they need to drink. Because if they don’t drink, they might get very sick, and they might not make it,” said Zoey. 

This idea came from a trip to the dollar store with her mom, where she witnessed someone purchasing two bottles of water but only able to pay for one. When her mom helped the person pay for her second bottle of water, Black Plume realized that many others might need water and can’t afford it. It was then when she told her mom that she wanted to donate water to the homeless. 

The fundraising started on June 3, and so far, 36 people have donated to the cause. 

“We are committed to Zoey, to helping her with her goal,” said Giselle.

On June 4, Black Plume bought and delivered 54 cases of water, which is 1296 bottles. 28 cases were delivered to the Sage Clan and the 26 remaining cases were distributed among The Blood Tribe Police department and Moses Lake shelter, because the Standoff shelter was closed while she was delivering the water. 

During her delivery to Moses Lake shelter, Black Plume encountered a group of people whom she personally delivered water to. They were so touched by her generosity that they also donated to her cause. 

Black Plume will continue to delivery water to the three locations every Friday until all the water purchased with the funds raised is delivered. 

Thanks to people sharing her mother’s Facebook Post, Black Plume has received donation from Saskatchewan, Southern Manitoba, across Alberta and Stanton Island, NY. 

Black Plume’s mother updates her Facebook post every second day, with a graph and receipts of the water purchases. 

Black Plume is known to have “a heart for the homeless” as her grandmother Cheryl Popplestone said when sharing the information about the water fundraising with the Herald. 

In November 2020 with her own money and with the help of her parents who matched her money, she made 50 bag lunches that included a bottle of water, a sandwich, fruit, bag of chips and a dessert. Her family helped her distribute them among people she came across in Galt Gardens and in the downtown area. 

In December 2020 again with her own money and with her parents help, she bought socks, mittens and candy to create Christmas bags for the homeless. 

“We thought that everyone should have a gift at Christmas because that is a season for giving,” said Giselle. 

Anyone wanting to donate for the water bottles fundraising can do so by e-transfer. 

To see or share Zoey’s progress, visit her Facebook post