The Olds Rotary Club is getting set for its annual Harvest Ball, the club's largest single fundraiser.
The event will take place on Nov. 2 at the Olds College Alumni Centre and club members hope to raise a similar amount to last year's ball, which netted $75,000 for the club. The club hopes to support the Olds Emergency Shelter Society with the funds raised from this year's event, in addition to supporting a primary dental program in Uganda and renovating a secondary school in Kenya.
“You never know year to year what kind of money we will raise. It kind of depends a lot on how the silent auction and live auction items go the night of the event. That would be an amazing evening if we could achieve (nearly $75,000) again,” said Mary Turner, president of the Olds Rotary Club.
Turner said the Rotary Club has several types of projects on the go in Olds.
“On a local level, we're doing a lot of things with parks right now and (supporting) the youth at the high school through the Interact Club, through some of the leadership programs that they have,” she said.
The other half of the evening will recognize the citizen of the year, the youth citizen of the year and the humanitarian of the year. The people recognized aren't always Rotarians, but are serving the community in some volunteer capacity. This year's recipients include Julie Calderwood as the citizen of the year, Ruth Hanson as the humanitarian of the year and Ashley Parker as the youth citizen of the year.
“We're really excited to recognize people that have done so much for our community and are still doing it. These people are just instrumental in the volunteer capacity in our town and we are excited to recognize them at the Harvest Ball. That's pretty important to us,” Turner said.
Rotary believes in supporting youth. In September, the group sponsored eight separate awards for Olds High School students in grades 9 to 12, totalling $2,000 in recognition of students who volunteer at the school and in the community.
The club is also a big supporter of the Interact Club or junior Rotary through OHS. Rotary also sponsors student leadership groups at Didsbury High School and Deer Meadow School.
“As far as the youth citizen of the year, these kids are the people that are so involved in their high school and in their community. They're the future of volunteerism in our community, so it's important to recognize them because they are our future leaders, and they're doing huge things in our community,” Turner said.
