WESTLOCK - There was no sleigh or reindeer, no red suit and no fluffy, white beard, however, a jolly man did come to town last week and made a lot of people happy.
Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock MLA Glenn van Dijken made a stop in Westlock Dec. 16 and before he left that day, he had distributed nearly $150,000 to six different local organizations in the form of community facility enhancement program (CFEP) grants and community initiatives program (CIP) grants.
Organizers of the upcoming Boston Pizza Cup were thrilled to receive $56,000 in CIP cash, while the Westlock Child Care Society received a $50,000 CFEP grant. The Westlock and District Food Bank received a $20,000 CIP grant and Community Futures – Tawatinaw received a CFEP grant in the amount of $14,487.
The PACO Ag Society in Fawcett was also granted $4,438 from CFEP and Memorial Hall got $2,500 in CFEP cash of its own to round out van Dijken’s grant-giving spree.
CFEP funding provides financial assistance to acquire, build, purchase, repair, renovate, upgrade or expand sports, recreational, cultural or other related public-use community facilities, on a matching basis. Applicants must contribute an amount equal to or exceeding the CFEP grant request towards the expenses of the project. The matching funding may be cash, donated labour, equipment or materials, all of which must be specifically related to the project.
CIP grants support projects that enhance and enrich communities throughout Alberta by providing assistance to non-profit organizations for new programs and initiatives, community events and community publications. These grants are also provided on a matching basis.
van Dijken said that without a doubt, this is one of the best parts of his job as MLA.
“Everything that is being delivered today is recognizing the effort that has already gone into it because they’re matching grants. It lets the community decide what projects are important to them, instead of some bureaucrat,” said van Dijken.
“That’s a big part of why I support these programs.”
van Dijken’s day started at the Westlock Child Care Society daycare, where children and staff were glad to receive $50,000 that will go towards Phase 2 and Phase 3 of the new outdoor learning environment at the facility. It’s a project parents, staff and community members have been fundraising for a couple years now.
“We’ll be able to hopefully finish upgrades to our outdoor learning environment,” said child care society executive director Christine Villeneuve, giving kudos too inclusive program Wanda Bertelsen, who has been spearheading the project since the beginning.
“She has always said that learning environments, either indoors or outdoors, should be inclusive for all children and should have natural and authentic materials for them to engage with.”
Fundraising efforts have also been well underway to match the CFEP grant. Kids and parents have sold candles and chocolates, the society has put on spaghetti dinners. Donations from staff, businesses and the community at large have also played a large role in gathering enough funds to match the grant.
“As a registered charity, we’re able to give tax receipts to those who are willing to donate. Wink, wink,” said Villeneuve.
Next, van Dijken was off to Memorial Hall, first to stop by the food bank to drop off $20,000, then to make a contribution of $2,500 to the hall itself.
Food bank president Sharon Kennedy said she was thrilled with the grant and said it will go a long way towards food costs. The food bank will be well-stocked for months to come.
Stepping through the doorway that connects the food bank to the Memorial Hall, van Dijken then met with the chair of the hall board Brenda Olson, who was pleased to receive grant funding to replace the rug in the hall and upgrade the fire suppression system.
As a popular community hub that hosts many club activities and events, such upgrades are a necessity, said Olson.
Over at the Rotary Spirit Centre, van Dijken then met up with a contingent of organizers for the BP Cup, the Alberta men’s curling championships, which is being hosted at the Spirit Centre in February.
Co-chair Mike Taylor said the curling club was working hard to outdo themselves after hosting the 2017 version of the championship tournament. He explained the $56,000 grant would go towards putting on another successful weekend of curling in Westlock.
Kelly Harris-Martin, the general manager and the board chair, Blair Kneller, of Community Futures – Tawatinaw were next in line. The non-profit organization focuses on business skills and entrepreneurship in rural areas.
The $14,437 grant will go towards fixing the roof of the organization’s office building in Westlock. The roof, said Harris-Martin, caved in earlier this years, which made it a little difficult to get anything done at the office.
Finally, the PACO Ag Society was also successful in applying for its own CFEP grant for $4,438. The funds will go towards facility enhancement at PACO’s base in Fawcett, in particular kitchen upgrades, said society president Dave Doke.
“What makes it so good is you meet with the people that are volunteers in the community that allow all this stuff to actually happen,” said van Dijken, who was on his way out of town before noon to deliver good cheer to other municipalities in his constituency. “Without the volunteers in rural Alberta. A lot of what we enjoy within our facilities and the programs are essentially volunteer-driven and that’s what we’re recognizing today.”
