Seniors Circle and Children’s Festival Committee awarded Whitecourt’s Enhancement Grant

By Laura Bohnert

On May 11, Whitecourt’s Town Council passed the decision to award the Seniors Circle and the Children’s Festival Committee this year’s Enhancement Grant.

The Enhancement Grant describes a total fund of $30,000 that is awarded annually by the Town of Whitecourt. Funds are awarded twice a year: once in the spring and once in the fall. Generally, $15,000 is awarded each time, although the amount allotted per term will vary based on the demands of the projects proposed.

According to Kelly Sadoway, Recreation Co-ordinator for the Town of Whitecourt, the Enhancement Grant is funding made available by the provincial body that is intended to “enhance and support new groups or projects in the area.”

“It’s hard for community groups to get started,” explains Sadoway. “The Enhancement Grant provides a little extra support for those who want to start a group or a project, but need a little extra money to get things going. The grant provides funding to local organizations to enhance programs or projects that are not generally covered in order to enhance the quality of life for the community.”

The organizations considered by the Enhancement Grant are focused on sports, recreation, culture, arts, and community development. “All applications for the award,” explains Sadoway, “are graded to reflect volunteerism and community spirit.” Each application goes through Sadoway before it can be recommended to town council and approved.

The Enhancement Grant is important, stresses Sadoway, because it provides more opportunities for the good of the community: “I’ve seen a lot of groups get to do projects that they wouldn’t normally get to do. The grant has provided a lot of opportunities for groups.”

The Enhancement Grant will enable the Seniors Circle to make improvements to the curling floor, Explains Sadoway. The lines can now be repainted, the curling rocks will be updated, and the Seniors Circle will be able to upgrade and acquire new tables to be used in the space.

The Children’s Festival Committee used their share of the Enhancement grant to promote the very first Whitecourt Children’s Festival on May 21.

“The Whitecourt Children’s Festival Committee was formed to offer our community a Children’s Festival,” Kara Grywacheski, Arts and Culture Co-ordinator at the Allan & Jean Millar Centre, explains. “We wanted to offer parents information on health, development, education, as well as development screenings. The committee also wanted to give children in our community the opportunity to experience some fun, entertaining, and educational activities that were based upon recreation and the arts.”

“We had a great reception from the community!” states Grywacheski. “We will be working together again to decide how we will develop this event, when it will be held again, and discuss funding for the future. At this point we have not decided when the next festival will be held.”

The Enhancement Grant is important to Whitecourt, explains Grywacheski, because it “is a great way to fund new groups and projects. It helps existing groups to complete needed projects, and new groups to get their feet off the ground – both of which enhance our community.”

“It is a great opportunity for groups to take advantage of,” says Sadoway. “The grant allows groups to get established or to upgrade their facilities in order to attract more people to be more active participants in the community.”

The next enhancement grant will be awarded in October. If you have a group or project you’d like to get started on, or if you have plans to upgrade your current facility, keep an eye out for application details in September’s Community Spectrum, or contact Kelly Sadoway at the Town of Whitecourt for more information or to discuss your project.