Thursday night (October 15th) saw a large fundraiser come back for the Rotary Club of Drumheller.
Volunteers and bidders alike were all at the Badlands Historical Centre for the Rotary Radio Auction. It was the first auction for the Rotary Club of Drumheller in three years. As was the case before, the auction was live on New Country 92.5 between 6 PM and 10 PM. There were over 120 items for the public to bid on. Graham Giffin, Chair for the Rotary Radio Auction shares that it ended up being a great night for their club. “Wow! Our community was so gracious to us. We had so many people with a great atmosphere. It was just a lot of fun knowing that we are putting good into our community.”
The totals are in and according to Giffin, it is over $20,000. “We are just about $21,500 that will be used in our programs”. The last time they held the event back in 2023, just over $22,000 was raised so very comparable numbers this year.
Some of the projects supported locally by the Rotary Club of Drumheller include the Seniors Hot Meal Program. They were the major sponsor for an accessible van for the Drumheller And Region Transition Society (DARTS). Rotary also supported programming at the Drumheller Library, children programming at the Atlas Coal Mine, the Performing Arts Festival, and a significant funding commitment to the Christmas Food Hamper Program. Giffin shares that the local club hasn’t earmarked these funds for any specific project but they do have a couple of initiatives they hope to invest in this year. “A couple of things that are on our radar is we are looking to add a scholarship. We have three already but are looking to add a fourth. Another one is that we are looking to increase funding for the Christmas Hamper Program, a large need in our community.”
The Rotary Club also supports projects worldwide admits Giffin. “We look at our action plan and how we can change the world, make our world a better place. Some of our money ends up in humanitarian projects. One that we were involved with last year, was helping an Indigenous community in Mexico. It is about 15,000 people and they will have a new hospital. That was a project with many Rotary Clubs including the Rotary Club of Chapala, Mexico.”
Giffin is hopeful that this fundraiser will be back in a couple of years. The Rotary Club of Drumheller thanks all who supported, volunteered, contributed, and the residents of Drumheller and Area for their continued support.
Comments