The Sundre chapter of the Canadian Royal Purple Lodges Association Society has for 66 years remained committed to improving the town and the lives of its residents.
“Our mandate is to work for the betterment of our communities,” said Brenda Johnston, honoured royal lady of the Sundre lodge, adding a large part of the local society's focus is on seniors and children.
There are a number of local projects and initiatives the organization has pursued, she said.
In no particular order, those include the Royal Purple Park in the north end of town, which the group bought equipment for and also helps to maintain, she said, adding town officials had some adult exercise equipment installed there as well.
The Sundre Rodeo Royalty competition is another annual event the group gets behind by sponsoring a candidate. This year's sponsored hopeful was Martina Holtkamp, who was crowned as Miss Rodeo Sundre 2016-17.
Johnston said the organization also sponsors exemplary students who are embarking on remarkable trips, such as the Sundre High School's Katie Jo Jackson, who in March addressed a roundtable at the U.N. in New York regarding the need to improve gender equality around the world.
Other beneficiaries of the society's efforts include charities like Camp Kindle, which is located west of Water Valley and offers support for survivors and other people affected by cancer, as well as Camp Health Hope and Happiness (known as Camp He Ho Ha), which is located near Edmonton and supports people with disabilities, she said.
“We give about $10,000 back every year into the community.”
That money is divvied up among local recipients like River Valley School, the Walk in Memory Walk for Hope suicide awareness event, palliative care, the Sundre Municipal Library, Greenwood Neighbourhood Place, the Sundre and District Nutrition for Learning Society, the community van, the seniors tea, the Sundre and District Cemetery, the Sundre Fire Department as well as Santa's Anonymous. The local Royal Purple also contributed funding when the Sundre Skatepark was being built, she said.
The Alberta Royal Purple Lodges Association Society, which recently celebrated its 22nd year as an organization — the Canadian Royal Purple Society is celebrating its 101st year — held its conference in Sundre June 9-11. The national convention will be held in Saskatoon, Sask.
“We had 75 registered delegates from all over Alberta,” said Johnston.
“It was a wonderful event — we had a great time.”
The Alberta Royal Purple Association donated about $48,000 that weekend to recipients including the Alberta Children's Hospital, which provides a crucial service to Albertans regardless of where they're from, she said.
Once available only to women, memberships with the association have since become open to anyone, so long as that person is at least 16 years old. Although the local chapter's number of members used to years ago be almost double its current total of 32, the Sundre Royal Purple still has a good base of committed volunteers who help when needed, but “we can always use new members,” she said.
“Anybody who wants to work for the betterment of his or her community is welcome to join,” she said, adding that anyone who is so inclined is encouraged to either email [email protected] or call 403-638-7436.
Alternatively, anyone who is interested is welcome to drop by and attend the group's monthly meetings, which are scheduled on the second Monday of the month starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Sundre Elks Hall.
