The Weyburn Communithon Committee is hosting its Annual General Meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at Southeast College.
Vice Chair Lindsay Manko-Bauche said there are some exciting things on the horizon for the annual telethon held on the last Friday of October in Weyburn for going on 44 years.
"We have an exciting future for Communithon this year. We're seeing a shift in how we operate, and that means that we actually are going to be trying to move forward to take Communithon on ourselves locally," she shared. "Some people might remember about seven years ago when the Weyburn Communithon under the United Way changed suits, the Regina United Way came on board to support us administratively, and we are working diligently this year to move forward to bring everything back to Weyburn and for Weyburn."
She said with that change, they will need extra support to see Communithon continue to thrive in Weyburn.
"The United Way has been really gracious in their support for us moving forward with this and they are going to be supporting us throughout this year, kind of helping us in the back end with some of the baby steps and things like that, but it will mean some shifts in our administration and how our member agencies are involved in Communithon, so we really, truly are looking for anybody who has any interest in seeing Communithon continue in Weyburn, we need all the support we can get."
Manko-Bauche noted they are hoping people with a background in administrative policy to come on board to help with the board side of things. However, there will also be a continued need for people who can help out on the day of Communithon.
"With some of us who have been more readily involved with Communithon over the years being pulled into working on this administrative arm, it means that there's some opportunity for people who really just love the day of Communithon to step in and help out with volunteering, with decorations, with the finance, with all sorts of different things. If you're willing to lend a hand, we are just looking for any community members to step up and help us out."
"If you have a skill and you have a passion, we have a place for you."
She said the Communithon committee is a fun committee.
"We have a lot of fun, but it also takes a lot of effort to get something like Communithon off of the ground. So wherever you feel like you could fit - if you're a creative person, if you're into art, if you're more of a technological person, all of those sorts of different modalities are welcome with us as the Committee."
Manko-Bauche said working under the United Way umbrella for the last seven years has enabled the member agencies to also contribute back by being part of the Committee.
However, "for accountability's and transparency's sake, it will mean that a lot of our agencies who receive funding will still be involved the day of the event in some of our planning and organizing, but they cannot hold board positions any longer because we don't have that second opinion of the United Way as an overhead any longer".
This means community members not part of the member agencies must step up so Communithon can continue.
"Not to say that our member agencies are stepping back completely, it will just mean that they're more on the front end, hands on stuff, so things like helping out with entertainment and stepping up on some of the subcommittees for Communithon, but they no longer can hold executive positions."
Having people with strengths in administrative roles to help with the board of directors for Weyburn Communithon would allow everyone to be 'aces in their places'. However, they are also welcoming of people who have an interest in serving at the board-level, but who may still be learning.
"This is an exciting time where we get to actually create our own policies and procedures, and that means that if you have some ideas that you think Communithon would benefit from, we do also welcome that conversation as well."
Anyone who can not make it to the meeting on April 8th can contact the Communithon Committee via their social media platforms or via e-mail through their website at Communithon.com.
A version of this article was originally published on March 31st.