Discover Weyburn, Magic 103, Country 106.7, AM1190, and the City of Weyburn will kick off the Great Plains Taste of Summer Community Barbecues today at Memorial Park next to City Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Your $3 will not only get you a hot dog, chips, and a drink, but it will also help out Inclusion Weyburn.
Inclusion Weyburn's mission is 'to build and inspire an inclusive Weyburn and area by empowering and valuing people with diverse needs and abilities'.
"We are a branch of Inclusion Saskatchewan. In Canada these organizations have been around for 70 plus years. We joined in 2017," shared President Jackie Wilson. "The initial reason was when my grandson, who is on the autism spectrum, was about four years old. He was in pre-K and he loved his day camps, and he just loved it so much. I found out that these kids often just really rely on structure and routine to maintain their happiness."
Wilson shared that she went in search of programming for her grandson in summertime, but was not able to find anything local. This led her to realize there were more families in Weyburn whose children had nowhere to go for day camps in summer.
"I shouldn't have been surprised because when you don't know these kids or how to best work with them, it can be a little bit daunting and kind of scary," she noted. "I knew that something had to happen, and that's when a group of us formed a group and went looking for ways that we could help."
It all began in 2018 with the Weyburn Leisure Centre's Fun in the Sun Day Camps, which had six children registered that first year through Inclusion Weyburn.
"Since 2018 we grew and grew, and last year we had 40 kids in camps in Weyburn. We've since partnered with the Weyburn Credit Union Spark Centre, the Family Place, and because some of our young ones graduated at the six to 12 age group camps, we started our own Teen Camp and we run that on our own."
Fundraising is an important component for Inclusion Weyburn, as they hire one-on-one staff to be with the kids at their camps.
"That makes it possible for them to be at camp and participate in the best way that they can. And because of that, our summer camps are our biggest expense. It's also our most positive thing that we've done. People love the camps, the kids love the camps."
Wilson said throughout the growing pains, it has been heartwarming to see inclusion grow in our community.
"We're so lucky that on our board we have teachers who work with these kids year round and they know them. So they train our staff and then they mentor our staff throughout the summer, which is just a huge gift that they do this in their summer months."
"Inclusion is growing everywhere, and in Weyburn it certainly is. People care. People are learning and want to be supportive, and they do give us so much emotional support as well as financial support, which is really, really important to us. So it's empowered families for sure to have their children participate in camps, just like all the other kids. That sense of equality is strong with us. That's what we look for."
In addition to day camps, the organization also hosts dances for anyone to attend, as well as inclusion swims at the Ramada, which is limited to members and families due to the smaller space since the indoor pool at the Weyburn Leisure Centre is no longer available. Zion Lutheran Church also hosts a photo opportunity with Santa Claus in December.
Wilson said Inclusion Weyburn would not exist without funding from grants and donations from businesses and individuals in the community.
"We rely on these kinds of donations and help, and also it will give you a chance to meet some of us and learn a little bit about Inclusion, and maybe we can answer any questions that people have."
We will be hosting a Great Plains Taste of Summer Community Barbecue every other Thursday throughout the summer. We'll be raising funds for the Weyburn Legion on July 17th, and CMHA Weyburn on July 31st. In August, we'll be helping out the Weyburn Humane Society on the 14th and the Weyburn Salvation Army on the 28th. Find out more about our amazing sponsors HERE.