The summer heat rolled in on Saturday, May 31 just in time for the Pembina North Community School’s (PNCS) golf fundraiser at the Hidden Valley Golf Course.
The PNCS’ Fundraising Association put together a Texas Scramble Format Tournament for teams of four. There were two different sessions throughout the day that the teams competed in before coming back to the course in the evening for a catered dinner and silent auction.
Over 100 people participated in the event including volunteers and golfers. A total of 80 golfers entered in the tournament with some being from the community, parents of former students and some who were just there to get a golf game in.
The association worked tirelessly over the past year to set up sponsorships with over 80 businesses and community members. Whether some donated prizes for the silent auction portion, sponsored individual holes and provided tournament prizes or gave some cash to put the decorations together.
This gold fundraiser was a year in the making and came with the purpose of getting something the kids have been wanting for years: an outdoor classroom. A place to learn that incorporates natural elements into the traditional education system. Leah Breckenridge, one planner for the fundraiser said that “It is such a great opportunity to have kids learn free from some of the distractions that they get in the classroom setting, but it also lets the teachers really incorporate more components into their lessons with some hands-on experience with the environment and indigenous learnings and agricultural components that just branches out with our little rural schools.”
The concept has been on their agenda for quite some time before finally putting it into action last fall when they started planning this golf fundraiser. Along with the funds raised from this past weekend, they are currently awaiting two grants to assist and the Pembina Hills School Board has agreed to cover the concrete cost.
This is also why a Gaga pit is on the list of facilities to be added to the school. A gaga pit is a traditionally hexagonal enclosure with 30 inch walls to play the Gaga game. One currently resides at Busby school where the young kids first learned about it, “The kids brought it to our attention through their parents but to the fundraising committee that it would be really welcome.” This is what Breckenridge described as a ‘hopeful extra’ if the funds are there.
While the numbers aren’t in for the total amount raised, Breckenridge said that the amount raised for the entry fee was minimal but the silent auction brought in over $5000.
The PNSC hopes to have the groundwork completed by this summer and completed before the kids return to school in the fall.
When it comes to getting this event in order, the association pointed out Ivy Dirks, one owner of the Hidden Valley Golf Course for their time and contribution. Breckenridge also pointed out the value of community, “This is the thing that I find very humbling, is that there was a tremendous amount of people and businesses that came together to make this actually happen.” she continued, “Yeah, we planned it and there was a lot of work that went into that for sure, but the community made it happen.”
