For more than 80 years, the Cosmopolitan Club of Prince Albert has served Prince Albert and area, and as International Cosmopolitan Day approaches, the organization hopes to raise awareness about a few projects that are close to their hearts.
Club members have raised funds for the Mont St. Joseph Foundation, Victoria Hospital Foundation, and the Rose Garden Hospice. This week, however, they’re urging residents to supports diabetes research.
“We’ve been very busy, (and) involved in lots of projects,” Prince Albert Cosmopolitan Club board member Norman Hill said. “Being a community service organization, we try and do lots of things for the community and we’ve been successful. Now we’re focusing on diabetes.”
November is Diabetes Awareness Month, so Hill said it’s a good fit for International Cosmopolitan Day. The PA club raises funds for Canadian diabetes researchers in Edmonton, but has also supported efforts to send youth with diabetes to summer camp.
In July 2020, they raised $3,000 for that initiative. Hill said they’re always looking for ways to help out, and supporting diabetes research is one of their big ones.
“That was one of the founding reason for Cosmos, to find some place where there’s a real need, and diabetes is a very common problem, health-wise,” he said. “We’ve been involved now for many years, funding the research for it, which we find is paying off with the work that’s being done.”
The Cosmo Club’s fundraising activities were hit hard by COVID-19. Their annual football pool was cut short, and public health restrictions meant a few annual fundraising events couldn’t go ahead.
Hill said the club has a few bingo fundraisers planned for the next month, but it’s been tough going. In the year prior to COVID-19, they raised $28,000 for diabetes research.
“All service clubs are really restricted in what they can do,” he explained. “It’s really tough out there right now.”
The Prince Albert Cosmos celebrated their 80th anniversary in 2019. As International Cosmopolitan Day approaches, Hill said PA would be a very different place without service clubs like the Cosmos.
“That’s one of the important things about all service clubs,” he said. “They always give back to the community in different areas they work in.”
International Cosmopolitan Day is Nov. 6.