“All for community.” That little motto, which graces the Community Foundation’s logo, encompasses some homespun truths that never lose their punch.
“It’s not about ridiculously wealthy people giving huge amount of money,” the key note speaker told a capacity audience at the Revelstoke Community Foundation’s Community Celebration at the Regent Inn’s Begbie Room on Thursday evening. “It’s about people like you and me helping our community.”
Barbara MacMillan of the Community Foundations of Canada said foundations like Revelstoke’s work hard to put money in the hands of local groups and organizations trying to deal with sometimes-tough issues.
“That byline ‘all for community’ really tells us that community foundations are about more than just money,” she said. “They are really all about building community vitality.”
And as Revelstokians know, this is a vital and active community. The foundation may not have been able to put a lot of money in the hands of local groups year because of the recession but this year it managed to recoup some of its overall value, estimated at $1.3 million and do what it does best — give away cash. Cheques were cut this year for seven organizations, including $2,500 for the Community Connections’ Food Bank, accepted by Patti Larson; $1,500 for Bear Aware and $800 for the Railway Museum, accepted by Daryl Willoughby; $2,464 for the Hospice Society, accepteed by Sharon Kohlman; $2,500 for the BC Interior Forestry Museum, accepted by Brian Sumner; $1,000 for the Red Cross medical implements program, accepted by Louise Burling; $1,800 for the Revelstoke Museum, accepted by Cathy English; $2,500 for the Community Connections’ Summer Day Camp, accepted by Kristal Bradshaw; and $2,500 each for Community Connections’ Summer Pre-Teen Camp and the Youth Program, accepted by Anne Corrie.
Here are a a few images of the children and adults who were the focus of Thursday’s celebration:
Revelstoke Community Foundation Chairman Steven Hui (left) listens to Barbara MacMillan of the Community Foundation of Canada talk about the potential of foundations to achieve positive social change during the foundation's Community Celebration at the Regent Inn on Thursday evening. David F. Rooney photoTracy Spannier of the Early Childhood Development Committee waxes poetic about the Queen Elizabeth Park Playground that the Foundation helped out with. David F. Rooney photoAnne Corrie, the Community Connections' Youth Program Coordinator, says the Foundation's willing ness to help finance youth art projects last summer, including a mural at Beruschi Park and a fire hydrant painting program helped a lot of kids have fun last year. David F. Rooney photoMountain View students Ingrid Boaz, Emily Suchy and Tayla Koerber talk about the way they used $500 in seed money from the Foundation to help finance a Writers' and Artists' Fair at their school next month as well as help people in the Third World access micro-loans through the Kiva Project. David F. Rooney photoKevin Lavelle and Steven Hui (right) listen carefully as Drew Goodwin of Mount Begbie Elementary explains how students there decided to use their $500 in seed money to purchase 11 colourful bean bag chairs for the Reading Buddy Program. The program pairs younger poor readers with older kids who have mastered it. David F. Rooney photoAs Drew Goodwin (left) and Kevin Lavelle (right) look on, Foundation Chairman Steven Hui appears to be reliving a moment from his childhood as he sits on a bean bag chair. David F. Rooney photoRobyn Freer (left) and Stephanie Batke tell the crowd at the Foundation's Community Celebration about the mural they used the seed money to finance. David F. Rooney photoAHE student Marie Busch (center) told participants at the Community Celebration that her school started a program called Hearts for Haiti that raised more than $900 for the Red Cross. They was matched by the federal government so the kids at the school were responsible for raised $1,800 that went to earthquake relief. David F. Rooney photoLast year might have been a dismal one, from the Foundation's point of view since it didn't have the wherewithal to give out much more than scholarships, but 2010 has proven to be a little more normal. Cheques were cut for seven organizations and/or programs, including (from left to right) $2,500 for the Community Connections' Food Bank, accepted by Patti Larson; $1,500 for Bear Aware and $800 for the Railway Museum, accepted by Daryl Willoughby; $2,464 for the Hospice Society, accepteed by Sharon Kohlman; $2,500 for the BC Interior Forestry Museum, accepted by Brian Sumner; $1,000 for the Red Cross medical implements program, accepted by Louise Burling; $1,800 for the Revelstoke Museum, accepted by Cathy English; $2,500 for the Community Connections' Summer Day Camp, accepted by Kristal Bradshaw; and $2,500 each for Community Connections' Summer Pre-Teen Camp and the Youth Program, accepted by Anne Corrie. David F. Rooney photo
