The Weyburn Group Home Society hosted the 50th Anniversary celebration on Saturday at the Weyburn Agricultural Society's Exhibition Hall, with fun for the whole family, including raffles, vendors, bouncy houses, food trucks, and live music from Switch.
"It had a humongous turnout, a lot of positivity, a lot of interactions with families and community members, and our individuals we support. Our staff got to know people," shared Executive Director Colin Folk.
"The day was well attended. There were actually a lot more people than I thought. It was just an overall success, and we really appreciate all the community support with our fundraiser."
"We were able to raise $6,300 for our van fund to buy a new wheelchair accessible van in the near future. So we're going to continue to work on this fundraising for the rest of the year and hopefully in early April get a new minivan that's wheelchair accessible for our individuals."
"We had two big-ticket raffle items. One was a Yeti cooler package with a comfortable no-gravity chair, and we had a big Traeger smoker package from New Age Electronics. They supported us on this. So, they were won by two local community members, and it was nice to see the community members win these prizes, and hopefully they enjoy them."
While the event was completely free, some local vendors provided some shopping opportunities throughout much of the event, which ran from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m.
"We did have some donations from the young family that was doing the snow cones; they donated to our van fundraiser," he noted. "We had multiple vendors from the community that were selling their local artwork or paintings, and our agency was selling some of the stuff that our day program individuals make."
There were also food trucks available for anyone who wanted to stay at the event the whole time. According to Folk, some did just that.
"There were multiple families that got there at 1:30, and I saw them leaving at about 7:40 when Switch was done playing," Folk shared. "They put on the proper music and our individuals were dancing well past 7:30, so we really appreciated Switch's show."
He said the event's sponsors included multiple local businesses and families.
"Schuck Law Firm was a big sponsor, the Weyburn Young Fellows was a big sponsor, Nergard Farms, Ukrainian Catholic Church, and then there were some silent sponsors as well that helped put this on."
He said the community support for Weyburn Group Home Society continues to grow.
"We appreciate everything. Our individuals always feel welcome in Weyburn, and our local businesses, and it's just a great community to have an agency like this. So we appreciate the community support."
"Thank you for the outstanding support from the community, and enjoying the 50th celebration, and we'll continue to do what we're doing day-to-day," Folk said. "Say, 'hi' if you see us around the community."
For the WGHS, he said, the frontline staff of 117 have created the culture who make the seven licensed group homes the best all around.
"I have a lot of great managers and directors, and our frontline staff are second to none," he commented. "We're very lucky to have the staff we do. I'm a small part of the wheel."
"We're a big agency for a town the size of Weyburn. Every home has their different little programming and interests and the individuals get to go do things that they enjoy. They get to pick their programming, and if you come to our Christmas parties or you see what we're about in the community, we're having lots of fun."
The WGHS also has 25 individuals in the Supportive Independent Living Program, who live in their own home or in their own apartment, and the five SLP staff help them with what they may need day-to-day.
During the event, Folk gave a speech for those in attendance, beginning by thanking those who helped the organization get to where it is today.
"Our former Director Bernice Driscoll, who led our agency through the 90s and into 2010 before she retired. Bernice set the framework and foundation that has allowed WGHS to continue to thrive today."
"Thank you to our volunteer Board of Directors that oversee and support our agency on all our visions and growth. Thank you to our dedicated front-line staff and Leadership managers who support and provide our individuals to reach their goals and dreams.
"Thank you to our integrated service partners, the Weyburn Work-in Shop and Canadian Mental Health Association for providing day programming supports and fun programming to the individuals we support together. Lastly, thank you to our funding partners, the Ministry of Social Services (CLSD), and The Saskatchewan Health Authority for continuing to fund our vision in supporting our individuals in our programs."
"WGHS began in March of 1975 as the incorporated name of The Society of The Independence of Handicapped Persons in the Community. The agency was created by the vision of Dr. Alex Weinberger and he gathered a volunteer group of directors whom ran the programs themselves. In 1982, the name of the agency was changed to The Weyburn Group Homes Society, and has grown from one group home to 7 licensed group homes throughout the city currently. We provide supports to 74 individuals in our programs and we are continuing to grow in size yearly. In 2016, we opened Dominics Place, which is funded by SHA as a Recovery treatment model and has 14 suites, and our Mental Health Coordinator also provides individual support to four individuals who leave in their own apartment in the city."
"Our biggest challenge is maintaining and purchasing wheel chair accessible buses as well as minivans or SUVs. We use our vans for individual programming trips, activities around the community as well as medical appointments for our individuals we support."
"Thank you to everyone who continues to support WGHS and for joining us today to celebrate this wonderful achievement of 50 years of supports to individuals in our programs."
