Raymond and District Seniors Club receive grant money

Posted on January 11, 2024 by admin

By Heather Cameron
Westwind Weekly News

The Raymond and District Seniors Club received a grant of $5,000 last month from the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southwestern Alberta.

Bev March, President of the Raymond and District Seniors Club, says the money, March says, was presented by cheque on December 11, but the Seniors Club had applied for the grant in October and was only notified that it had been approved at the beginning of December.

“The money comes from the Community Foundation of Lethbridge and Southern Alberta in partnership with businesses and organizations that support charitable causes,” said March. “In this case it came from support of the Lethbridge Auto Dealership Association.”

March says that the grant will go toward replacing the old nonfunctioning vertical blinds in the club’s Wild Rose Room and office with roller blinds while helping to reduce heat from the sun in summer and block cold in winter. This, March says, should save the club money on cooling and heating bills and provide a more appealing look, as the old blinds are original from 1990 and no longer open or close fully.  

The Raymond and District Seniors Club, March says, is open on almost a daily basis in some manner for a function, activity, presentation or just for pool players or quilters, and has socials, potlucks, games, workshops and seminars on various subjects for area seniors 55 plus as well as quilting groups, and a movie night once a month for seniors. The Seniors Club, March says, is open to all area seniors age 55 plus, and spouses of seniors 55 plus. 

 March says that the club also provides a place groups and families can book for meetings and other gatherings including vaccination clinics, election polling stations, and Town meetings. Little Pantries, March says, also has a new facility in the Club’s parking lot to distribute food to those in need and the local handi-bus also parks in the club’s lot.

In addition to activities within Raymond, March says, the club also has joint activities with other seniors’ clubs, including the one in Stirling. The club, March says, also hosted the FCSS Seniors Conference in 2022, which included Seniors Clubs from a number of communities in the FCSS Region, and Raymond Junior High School allowed them to use their gym for it as the club building doesn’t have capacity.

March says that the Raymond and District Seniors Club consists almost entirely of volunteers and includes a Board of Directors consisting of 12 volunteers who are elected for a three-year period, with the executives being elected from the board members for one year at a time. 

“We are grateful for being approved for this grant and to those who work hard to organize and administer all that goes into the selection process,” said March. “Applying for a grant is quite a process and the staff at Community Foundation were very helpful in answering my questions along the way.”