The Rotary Club of Kindersley presented a cheque for $2000 to Elizabeth Middle School back in March in support of the SCC's outdoor classroom initiative.
Always proud to share their club's community contributions, president Sharon Price was eager to share more.
"The Elizabeth School parent council had sent us a letter outlining their desire to build an outdoor classroom. And so, we did a fundraiser in the fall and were happy to support that initiative."
It's not their first partnership with Elizabeth as past donations from the Rotary Club helped erect some well-used playground equipment, a dedication of appreciation for the work sitting just outside the jungle-gym.
The Rotary Club has been established in the community for years now, supporting local projects as well as out-of-country ones through Rotary International. Local contributions include annual donations to the Kindersley and District Food Bank, instrumental donations towards creating the walking trail in Kindersley, and of course the well-known Rotary Field used for soccer and football among other high school sports, located just outside Kindersley Composite School.
Other recent notable work from the club had them donating benches to the indoor pool, and also a nice injection of funds for Kinder Kollege to help support youth.
Price talked about another initiative the Rotary Club is proud of that didn't involve any monetary assistance back in 2019.
"We worked with SaskEnergy to provide chili for schools. That was kind of fun, got together with Westberry School and we made up large pots of chili, and (that was given to all three schools actually) for a chili lunch."
The mentions above are just a drop in the bucket for what the Rotary Club has done to help schools over the years. Price told us about another major donation over the years that involved providing food for kids.
"Part of that fundraiser that was very substantial... (funds) were transferred to the Sun West School Division and we called it Food for Kids. That enabled schools to access funds to provide for kids who came to school hungry. We had no stipulations on that money." said Price.
"If the kids came to school hungry because they hadn't eaten breakfast, then the teachers could access food." she finished, as while they haven't had a breakfast program for a few years, Price commented that other local groups and businesses have stepped up to fill the void.
Kindersley's Rotary Club isn't anything without its dedicated volunteers. Price said there are around 10 active members in the club.
"We always say we are small in numbers but mighty, because we haven't dropped any of our projects because of our numbers. We always just pitch in and work a little harder."
The smaller team isn't going to stop the Rotary Club of Kindersley from carrying out a pair of projects this year. First of is "Beer and Brisket" night on June 14.
"Probably a 6:30-7:00 PM start, going to get some posters out soon and finalize some details."
After that will be a wine and food pairing event, a very successful event the last two years, as perhaps the Rotary Club is on to something with the theme of their events.
"We are hoping that we will have the beer crowd in June and the wine crowd in November."
Most of the money stays local, but some of it is set aside for their international projects.
"We've done water wells in Africa. Polio plus has been a big push for Rotary for years now. Internationally we try to keep active because that is part of our focus."
While the international projects fall in line with other clubs a little more often, they have the ability to take more specific direction with their local work, as Price once again spoke on their commitment to youth.
"You can probably get that from some of the projects I have mentioned. We always do three scholarships for the high schools. Have sponsored kids to go to leadership camps every year... Just looking at the list here and I am thinking its really youth focused, because that's where our future is obviously."
Anybody Kindersley residents interested in becoming a Rotary Club member might be happy to know the club only meets twice a month. They meet the first and third Wednesday of the month at the Highway Host on Main Street.
"Used to meet weekly and that was too difficult for people to sustain... People are more than welcome to even just drop in and visit.
"Don't need to feel like it's a secret society," said Price. "Stop in, have a visit, get to know us, and even if you don't want to join, we would appreciate a helping hand."
Learn more about the Rotary Club of Kindersley HERE.