CARSTAIRS - About 240 people came out to a fundraising event on April 19 at the Carstairs Community Hall to raise money for Mountain View Seniors' Housing (MVSH).
The funds raised from the event will go towards purchasing equipment, furniture and other items needed in the lodges operated by MVSH.
Carstairs mayor Lance Colby said the event was a big success with a live and silent auction, dinner and dance with music by the Blake Reid Band.
"The event went very well," said Colby. "The hall was decorated nicely and both the live auction and silent auction were very well received. The meal was very good and everyone enjoyed the prime rib dinner. Highlights were the great support by people who attended, the meal, the auctions and the Blake Reid Band.
"This was the largest gathering we have had at any of the other previous galas so we expect the funds raised will reflect that."
The exact amount raised was not known at press time.
When the new lodge in Carstairs is built it will be a beneficiary of funds raised at similar galas. Carstairs has been earmarked as the location for the next lodge to be built by MVSH, he said.
"We have not been given a timeline for the new build in Carstairs," he said. "All the plans for the build are in place along with the land so we are basically shovel-ready."
Colby said a new seniors' lodge in Carstairs is much needed.
"We only have a lodge and it does not offer the higher levels of care that are afforded in the other facilities," he said. "This means people have to move. Our study showed the Alberta Government that the need was here and they were surprised when shown the statistics that proved the need.
"We hope after seeing the need was here they will support the Carstairs build like they have in other communities with similar needs."
