A large donation to the Weyburn Theatre Community Service Co-operative has helped get the organization closer to its funding goal. Kingston Midstream donated $50,000 for the project, bringing the total amount raised so far to $1.7 million. The total goal is $3 million.
“At Kingston Midstream, we are committed to building and maintaining strong relationships in the communities in which we live and operate,” said Dena Bachorcik, Public Awareness & Community Investment Coordinator for the company, in a written release. “We believe that having a theatre in Weyburn again will be an asset to the community and surrounding area as an important visual and performing arts project to support.”
The treasurer for the theatre’s board, Sean Purdue, said the organization is thrilled by the support from Kingston Midstream.
“We’re just absolutely thrilled to have them on board with this project,” he stated.
The work on the theatre is already underway, with stages being completed as they can.
“We’ve still got active construction happening over at the site, with the slab hopefully going to be poured in the next couple of weeks,” Purdue explained. “In a perfect world, we would like to have enough fundraising completed to construct the shell by the end of the year, but we still do have a ways to go for that, so that’s a bit of a moving target.”
The co-operative's fundraising committee continues to talk with potential donors throughout Weyburn, and they are hoping to have more announcements in the coming weeks.
While large corporate donations are important to the fundraising efforts, Purdue stressed that community support at all levels is crucial to reaching the $3 million target.
“We are hearing that folks feel like it’s a lot of money that we need to raise, and that whatever they give won’t be enough,” Purdue said. “But, if everybody in Weyburn was able to give $50, that would raise half a million dollars for us, so even if it’s not $50, any donation counts.”
To find out how you can donate, you can visit the Weyburn Theatre Community Service Co-operative website.