A total of $56.365 was divided up between 14 local recipients Monday night as the town disbursed money from the Moffat Family Fund on behalf of the Winnipeg Foundation.
The recipient of the largest portion of this sum was the Kiwanis skate park committee, which got $12,500 towards the proposed skate park they’re hoping to start building here this spring.
“The project isn’t dead, we were just on a hiatus,” said Steve Maki, who’s been spearheading the project since its inception well over a year ago.
“This money’s coming to us at just the right time as we’re just launching our brick campaign,” he added, referring to a promotion by which individuals, groups, and businesses can purchase bricks that will be featured in the foundation at the future skate park site near the Memorial Sports Centre.
Maki noted early interest from nine local business already has netted the project $15,000 worth of bricks. These blocks of bricks will feature the logos of the businesses—serving as a near-permanent form of advertising.
While the skate park project previously was set back by some town concerns that the skate park was considered a proper structure, and by law would require more parking spaces near the arena, Maki said he’s preparing a application for the committee of adjustment in hopes of waiving this designation.
Meanwhile, another recipient of a good-sized portion of the pot Monday night was the Fort Frances Highlanders, which received $6,570.
“This is an enormous boost for the band,” said Dr. Bruce Lidkea. “It’s all earmarked for the youth part of the band, and we’ll be using it to buy two kilts and two bagpipes, plus some extra reeds.”
The Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau received a smaller amount—$2,500—but nonetheless it was welcomed with equal warmth.
“The money will help put on workshops and help with the program [Youth Educating Parents/Professionals/Peers],” said Vanessa Hebert, executive director of the Volunteer Bureau.
“We’ve been lying kind of low,” she noted. “But then, we haven’t had a lot of money. We’ll be meeting soon to see what we’ll do with it.”
The program is geared at getting youth to relate to adults the peer pressure that teens face, particularly when it comes to drugs and alcohol use.
Other recipients, and the amounts they received, included:
•Fort Frances Centennial Celebrations Advisory Committee—$1,000 to be used for arts and crafts;
•Fort Frances “Community Chest”/Canadian Cancer Society—$6,500 for a “volunteer driver” program aimed at assisting families with medical problems requiring transportation to and from treatment facilities;
•Fort Frances and District Association for Community Living—$5,100 towards a new vehicle with a lift system;
•Fort Frances Museum—$1,250 for activity kits to be used to teach heritage programming in local schools;
•Friends of the Library—$3,000 for a teen centre, teen-oriented books and an over-sized chair;
•Friends of Little League—$4,000 for general expenses, clinics, and member registration subsidies;
•Joy of Life Fellowship Church—$3,000 for food for David’s Deli soup kitchen;
•Memorial Sports Centre—$2,445.06 towards swimming toys/teaching tools;
•Memorial Sports Centre—$2,500 towards equipment and supplies for a summer youth camp;
•Fort Frances OPP—$1,000 for the D.A.R.E. program; and
•Rainy Lake Air Cadet Squadron—$5,000 for meeting expenses.
The recipients were chosen by the Fort Frances Community Fund back in June. It had received a total of 21 applications from various local individuals, groups, and organizations with a total request value of $175,202.30.
At that time, the recipients were forwarded to the Winnipeg Foundation, which, in turn, presented the final request for funds to the Moffat family for final approval late last year.
In 2002, the Moffat family entrusted $100 million to the Winnipeg Foundation, which, in turn, is responsible for investing the money and distributing it to communities in need.
After learning of this, Fort Frances applied for—and was chosen to be—one of these recipient communities.
Year after year, the Town of Fort Frances, along with other communities once serviced by the Moffat family’s cable television business, is eligible to receive some of the interest from that $100 million investment.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
