Community Foundation to disburse 32 fall grants

By Lethbridge Herald on December 5, 2023.

Community Foundation to disburse fall grants

LETHBRIDGE HERALD

The Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta will be supporting 32 projects and initiatives through its fall grants which were announced on Friday.

The total of the grants being disbursed through two programs is $336,050.

The grants are being awarded after the fall call for applications to the Community Priorities Fund and the Henry S. Varley Fund for Rural Life.

Through the Community Priorities Fund, the foundation is disbursing $229,900 to projects from 26 organizations across southwestern Alberta.

The foundation says the funding is made possible by private, unrestricted donations from long-time supporters.

The Lethbridge Auto Dealers Association (LADA) provided an additional $14,650 to 17 of the projects.The LADA has allocated over $206,000 across the region since they began working with the Community Foundation in 2014.

The Henry S. Varley Fund for Rural Life will provide $91,500 to six projects. This fund, established from a bequest by Pincher Creek-area rancher Bill Long and named to honour the memory of his uncle, supports projects whose purpose is to sustain a high quality of life for residents of rural Southwestern Alberta.

The grants essentially mark the end of the 2023 granting season, according to Community Foundation Charleen Davidson.

“Thanks to the continued generosity of our donors, we were able to support the community of Southwestern Alberta with over $1.5 million this year. We thank everyone who contributes to our success and we acknowledge all of the many diverse groups that receive these grants; we are proud to be able to support the projects that help build a strong, healthy community,” Davidson says in a release.

Foundation team members will be hand-delivering the grants from Dec. 11-15.

Recipients include:

• ALS Society of Alberta, $15,000 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase lift and swing equipment, which will provide support to families in Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta communities.

• Canyon Church Camp Association – Waterton, $15,000 ($1000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to help with the washroom portion of the camp as it rebuilds after the 2017 Kenow wildfire.

• Carriage House Theatre Foundation – Cardston, $7,500 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase equipment for the Foundation’s Academy Program, a program for youth between the ages of 7 to 17.

• Chinook Regional Foundation for Career Transitions – Lethbridge, $5,500 ($500 from LADA):

Funding will be used to improve their website, which will improve the level of service they offer to rural and urban middle and high school students throughout Southwestern Alberta.

• Horizon School Division – Chamberlain School – Grassy Lake, $4,000 ($500 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase new instruments which will enhance the school’s music program.

• Lethbridge and District Japanese Garden Society – Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden, $15,000 ($2,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase three Japanese lantern kiosks with interactive, touchscreen displays as part of the Nikkei Memory Capture Project, an oral history project that explores the cultural and social history of Canadians of Japanese descent.

• Lethbridge Astronomy Society, $12,000 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase a mobile, inflatable planetarium to provide educational programs within schools and at public exhibitions.

• Lethbridge School Division – Lethbridge Collegiate Institute High School, $7,500 ($1,000 LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase performing equipment for the LCI Instrumental Music Program.

• Lethbridge School Division – Dr. Robert Plaxton Elementary School, $7,500 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase handbells for the school’s music program.

• Lethbridge County – Link Pathway Committee, $15,000:

Funding will be used to build a picnic shelter along the Link Pathway trail between Lethbridge and Coaldale.

• Magrath History and Museum Association, $5,000 ($500 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase two touch screen monitors for displays to act as kiosks for patrons.

•Palliser School Division – Dorothy Dalgliesh School – Picture Butte, $7,500 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to equip the school with a sensory room for students that require additional support.

• Palliser School Division – John Davidson School – Coaldale, $5,000 ($500 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase ice skates and helmets for in school programming, which can also be borrowed by students and families outside of school time.

• Safe Haven Women’s Shelter Society – Taber, $3,500 ($500 from LADA):

Funding will be used to redesign and renovate the emergency shelter’s crisis intervention and intake office.

• Snake Valley Drop-In Centre – Milo, $5,000:

Funding will be used for the purchase of paint and tiles as part of the Milo Seniors’ Centre renovations.

• Stavely and District Agriculture Society, $15,000:

Funding will be used to purchase a new set of bleachers, which will replace the old and unsafe current bleachers.

The Empress Theatre Society – Fort Macleod, $8,150 ($650 from LADA):

• Funding will be used to purchase new stand-alone lighting equipment for concerts, events, and productions held at the Empress Theatre.

• Town of Claresholm – Claresholm Firefighter Association, $15,000:

Funding will be used to upgrade aging hydraulic extrication tools with up-to-date, battery operated electronic tools.

• Town of Claresholm – Claresholm Arts Society, $7,000:

Funding will be used to purchase metal multi-purpose stands and curtains for use at the Claresholm Community Centre.

• Town of Claresholm – Claresholm Skatepark Association, $15,000:

Funding will be used towards the construction of a new modern skateboard park in Claresholm.

• Town of Fort Macleod Public Library, $7,500 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to purchase new computers that will help meet the need of the increased for library services.

• Town of Nobleford, $15,000 ($1,000 from LADA):

Funding will be used to replace the kitchen equipment in the Town’s Community Complex.

• Town of Raymond – Raymond and District Seniors Club, $5,000 ($500 from LADA):

Funding will be used to replace old window blinds with energy efficient roller blinds.

•Town of Stavely – Stavely Library Board, $5,000:

Funding will be used to upgrade three public computers and monitors to accommodate new technology.

• Town of Stavely – Stavely Community Centre, $15,000:

Funding will be used to upgrade the community centre’s kitchen with a new, commercial grade dishwashing station.

• Village of Coutts, $6,900:

Funding will be used to remove old lighting fixtures in the Coutts Municipal Library and replace them with energy efficient LED’s.

Henry S. Varley Fund for Rural Life Grant Recipients

• Allied Arts Council of Pincher Creek, $7,500:

Funding will help the organization make the studio more accessible by hiring positions to be present in the studio, to maintain and upkeep it, and to work with and support the studio users.

• Village of Arrowwood – Arrowwood Restoration Society, $10,000:

Funding will be used to help publish a new history book for the communities of Arrowwood, Shouldice, Mossleigh, and Farrow.

• Canadian Association for Disabled Skiing (CADS) – Crowsnest Pass, $18,500:

Funding will help expand CADS Lethbridge by supporting marketing costs, providing a bursary for student travel and program costs for those in need, website development, database for membership and volunteer management, project management and more.

• Rowan House Society, $12,000:

Funding will be used to expand educational programming into Vulcan County and the M.D. of Willow Creek, programming that will help women recognize the signs of an unhealthy relationship while empowering them to make choices so that they can lead lives free from violence and abuse.

• Town of Fort Macleod – Willow Creek Community Adult Learning Society and Pincher Creek Community Adult Learning Council, $30,000:

Funding will help in the recruitment, education, and training for people who face barriers while seeking employment.

• University of Lethbridge – Global Drums, $13,500:

Funding will be used to bring hands on percussion workshops and concerts to rural schools that do not have music programs or are underserved with music education options.