The St. Albert Community Foundation handed out its annual grants to an ever-wider number and variety of community groups on Wednesday.
Foundation president Kent Davidson said that it's very important to offer this kind of support in order to help build the community and make it stronger.
"I never come to one of these things without really being in awe of what people are doing and how they are supporting this community with relatively modest means," he began, adding how touched he was to hear the stories of the work that these agencies do and where these grants will go.
"Those are really great things that the St. Albert Community Foundation is able to do. It just fills my heart to be able to help them. All of the members of the board of directors … that's what keeps them going: knowing that you can make a difference, a small difference sometimes but it doesn't take very much to make a big difference to some of these organizations."
Grant recipients include the Sturgeon Community Hospital Foundation, the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, the Bissell Centre, KidSport St. Albert, the Community Information and Volunteer Centre, the ALS Society of Alberta, the Boys & Girls Clubs/Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton & Area, STAR Literacy, the St. Albert Seniors Association, Stop Abuse in Families, and the YMCA.
The Gazette will be following with articles on each of those organizations and how the grants will help them in their work to serve the community.
Mayor Crouse was also on hand at the event to provide the SACF with a cheque of $14,916 for the new Const. David Wynn Endowment Fund, which will be used to give financial support to successful students moving toward careers as first responders or police officers.
T8N100Men help serve up Salvation's breakfast
The organization brings its members together three times a year to hear presentations from local charities and community groups that have been nominated as potential candidates. After the presentations, the members vote and the group with the most votes gets the cash.
"They were all very well received. Everybody was quite intrigued by all of them," explained representative John Liston.
In the end, the Salvation Army received the donation valued at close to $11,000. Kellie McTaggart, the church's community services co-ordinator, focused her presentation on the church's Feed My Lambs breakfast program for schoolchildren.
"We are providing 14 elementary schools in St. Albert with non-perishable breakfast packages," she said, indicating each package includes a fruit cup and juice, with options of either a granola bar, oatmeal, or cold cereal. The schools also receive funds to purchase milk.
The program started in September and handed out more than 2,600 breakfasts that month alone.
"It's hard to believe that in St. Albert we need a breakfast program for kids that are coming to school hungry," Liston stated.
There previously was a similar program in the city but it lost its funding recently. The Salvation Army stepped in to continue helping kids come to school with the energy to learn.
