With August now underway and summer heading towards its back-half, people will start looking for activities for their kids to do in the fall or winter months. For those with a more creative side, they may undertake activities such as arts, dance, drama, etc. However, the costs of some of these cultural programs can be challenging for families; that’s where Creative Kids Saskatchewan can help. Shawn Bauche, program consultant for Creative Kids Saskatchewan, explains what they’re all about.
“So, Creative Kids Saskatchewan is a charity. We offer financial assistance for parents that want their kids to get involved in music, art, dance, theater and cultural activities, but might not be able to afford the cost of lessons. So, they can find somebody in their neighborhood or their city that offers those kinds of lessons and apply for up to $750 for those classes.”
Creative Kids Saskatchewan is a non-profit organization in conjunction with SaskCulture. In order to raise the funds to help those families pay for things like dance lessons, they launch their own fundraising efforts and accept donations and sponsorships which are all used to help kids involved in cultural activities. Bauche talks about the history of this organization and how they’ve helped thousands here in Saskatchewan.
“We help about 2000 kids a year, children and youth ages 4 to 19 and we've been around since 2010. So yeah, we've been doing lots and lots of kids that are able to experience the benefits of cultural activity that that we're really proud to be able to help out. We're province wide. So, we’ve helped kids in over 280 communities across the province and yeah, it just keeps growing and growing. In Weyburn, for instance, like this past year, we've helped about 26 kids for about $17,000. We don't offer any of the programs ourselves. So, if parents can kind of look around their community and see who they're interested in working with."
They work alongside organizations to help with this funding. Some of the businesses Bauche mentioned in the Weyburn area they collaborate with are various dance studios, such as Tricky Feet Dance Studio, the Kraplenka Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, and Marley’s Dance Effex and others such as, Collabrative Art Studios, Credit Union Sparks Centre and Stephanie Aronson.
The registration deadline to apply is nearing closer, as those interested have until Wednesday, August 13th to apply. For those interested in applying or would like more information surrounding Creative Kids Saskatchewan, visit their website at www.creativekidssask.ca. You’ll also find a list of eligible activities there. There is also a paper form for those interested and they can fill out and mail it in to apply as well.