A $25,000 donation was presented on Saturday, September 7th, to the Weyburn Oilwomen Association from the owner of Aldon Oils, Del Mondor.
"Honestly, we were completely taken by surprise," shared Board Chair Carmen Sterling. "Aldon Oils has supported us and our events over the years, they've been fantastic supporters of ours. They had asked us to help them with their 50th anniversary celebration that they were hosting, and so we were happy to get on board and help them with that, and so on Saturday when we were prepping for the event, Del let us know that we would be receiving a donation. So we were taken aback. It was really a surprise for us."
She said that, as part of the group's values, they have taken advantage of opportunities to volunteer at numerous community events over the years.
"Often without any expectation of a return," noted Sterling. "In this particular case, they had offered to give us a donation, but we were completely taken by surprise at the value of it."
The Weyburn Oilwomen had originally formed as a group of women working in the oil industry within various types of roles, who wanted to find a way to give back to the community and have a networking opportunity for women in the industry.
Sterling said that has branched out in recent years, now having expanded its membership and board members to include those who are not necessarily in the oil industry.
"But we've kept the name and we've kept that history with us, because we know how important the oil industry has been to our communities," she shared. "Many of the companies that do business in the area have been great supporters of our events, our functions, making donations, and just supporting us all around in our initiatives."
As for how the funds will be allocated, Sterling said they haven't had a chance to discuss it quite yet, since the generous contribution came as such a surprise to them. However, they'll know more after their next meeting.
"Del's comments were very encouraging for us, that we had complete discretion to use these funds as we see fit, but with it being such a surprise to us, we really haven't had time as a group to sit down and have that discussion," said Sterling. "I'm sure there are probably tons of ideas flying around everybody's heads as to what the options might be."
She added that while they have a few ongoing initiatives, it would be really nice to see the funds go towards something new and innovative that Weyburn needs.