ImmanueLights Buy-A-Bus Campaign

Hi, we're Charles and Charlene and we are the leaders of the ImmanueLights.

We are a youth and young adult blacklight performing group whose purpose is to glorify our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in a unique way, to share the gospel in practices and performances; to strengthen each member's God-given identity; to create a safe, loving, supportive, family-like community of all ages; to encourage creative freedom and expression; and to find joy and laughter in all that we do.

Our performers and assistant leaders range in age from 13 (start in grade 8) to college, university, and workforce.

We originated in Winnipeg in 2003 as Immanuel Christian School's Black Light Theatre, and after moving to Lethbridge in 2015 we were based out of (another) Immanuel Christian Secondary School, where we re-branded as the ImmanueLights. After the COVID pandemic we branched out on our own, and now we're an independent non-profit youth and young adult theatre in our 22nd season of performing.

From music and dance to skits and puppets, we're always experimenting with new ideas. Our performances are filled with a series of short routines that captivate the young and wow the young at heart. Every performance is a show to remember!

While we do 3-6 of our own public performances every year in Lethbridge, we love to perform for schools (chapels and special events), churches (banquets, fundraisers, and special events), and everything else from camps and staff retreats to weddings and nursing homes. We come totally equipped (sound system, lighting, and backdrops) for every performance – all we need from our venue is a completely dark space in which to perform.

All of our public performances are free of charge (donations appreciated), and we ask only a nominal amount from our venues for shows, so that our performances are accessible to everyone. We run several fundraisers during the year to make up the difference required for our equipment and travel costs.

We've travelled to towns and cities from the mountains to the Canadian Shield as time and funds have permitted; but since we're no longer part of a school district we do this all using personal vehicles. As you can imagine, taking 17+ people on the road in multiple vehicles (plus a trailer full of equipment) many times a year can be challenging, so we finally decided that it's time we buy our own bus!

This year we face an additional challenge – we're going international! We've been invited to perform in 3 shows in April near Dallas, Texas for an audience of 4,500 people! Without a bus, it will be impossible for us to fulfill this awesome request!

All donations will be used for the capital purchase of the bus, inspection, maintenance, repairs, etc. It's a big ticket item for us so every dollar helps us achieve this amazing goal to spread our light even further. :)