he Lions Club motto is ‘We Serve’ and clubs from around Prince Albert did just that with a generous group donation to the Rose Garden Hospice.
The Prince Albert, Rosthern, St. Louis, MacDowall and Christopher-Emma Lake Lakeland Lions Clubs, with the support of the Lions District and Lions Club International, donated $100,000 to the Rose Garden Hospice Foundation on Wednesday, Oct. 27.
Garry Beaudry, President of the PA Lions Club and project chair for the joint effort, said the reason for the donation was quite simple.
“I think everybody has been touched by somebody passing away and usually having to be in the hospital when it’s coming. I know my family we were going to move my dad into a hospice but he didn’t make it unfortunately,” Beaudry said.
“So once I heard that they (the hospice) were starting to raise the money, I was interested in our club doing something. After they did their presentation I thought, ‘I am going to go out to the other clubs in our zone. I am going to present it to them and see what we can come up with.’”
The Lions set a fundraising goal of $50,000. After seeking input from the other clubs who were all on board, they were able to meet their goals. They also filed for a matching grant from the Lions Club International. When that was approved, the total donation jumped to $100,000. The Lions District 5SKN also chipped in $2,000 to help reach the mark.
Beaudry said the fundraising efforts showed that all Lions Clubs think the Rose Garden Hospice is a worthwhile project.
“We have our past District Governor Lion Mavis Wilm who is from the PA club, and then we have our sitting district governor Lion Marianne Crumchynsky and she is from the Rosthern Lions Club,” he said.
“So it was really great I had two sitting district governors that were able to help push it because we have to have the support of the whole district to file for a grant.”
Beaudry added that any time you see Lions selling tickets, selling hamburgers or anything it goes towards large community projects, guide dog sponsoring or helping those in need it all serves the same purpose.
“Our motto is ‘We Serve’ and that’s what we try and do,” he said.
Beaudry said the Prince Albert club’s fundraising efforts have been hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, as have efforts from the other clubs, but they found a way to make the sizeable donation happen.
“I mean, fundraising is bingos, and of course the bingo hall was closed for nine months,” he explained. “Then we do ticket sales at the Exhibition, and of course no Exhibition for two years, so things kind of get hurt. The smaller communities they have the suppers or they put on sports days or whatever. That’s how we all raise money and everybody chipped in what they felt they could and every bit helped.”
Once the support of the Lions Club International Foundation and District 5SKN entered the equation the project was complete.
“It was easy that way, I haven’t found a Lion yet that said that this wasn’t a good project,” Beaudry said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
