2023 Grant Recipients
In 2023, the foundation received more than 200 applications from communities across the province for projects that supported either recreation or educational events and activities, or cultural facilities and programs.
The judges decisions were difficult with so many amazing submissions. The four communities sharing the $100,000 grant are: Morrin, New Brigden, Cotillion and Wembley.
The RCF has given away $500,000 to deserving communities. Stay tuned for a new grant program next year.
The Cotillion hall was built in 1965 and has worked well for many years, but after 58 years the hall needed to be replaced.
Robert Rapin, Janet Hubert, Leslie Bouck and Darryl Bates stand by the pass through area between the kitchen and main hall. Many memories and friends were made in the hall, but the group is happy there will be a new hall soon.
Janet Hubert and Darryl Bates look at the blueprints for the new Cotillion hall.
Darryl Bates, Janet Hubert, Leslie Bouck and Robert Rain hold up blueprints for the new Cotillion Hall. The shell of the hall is up and they hope to be having their first event in the hall soon.
Cotillion Butte Recreation Association
Cotillion community hall replacement
Bonanza, Alta.
Awarded $32,000
The Cotillion Hall has been the heart of the isolated farming district for almost 60 years. With the help of the RCF grant towards a new $1.5 million hall, residents know their community will stay strong for many more years.
Continue reading...Every week community members gather in the old hall to celebrate weddings, birthdays, or just any excuse to get together with neighbours. When mice became a problem in the hall, residents knew it was time to rebuild. Many young families have moved to the rural farming area and having a new hall will help maintain a strong community spirit and help attract more young families to the area.
The Community Recreation Centre is attached to the arena and is the hub of the community. New sports flooring will allow competitive level sports be played in the former curling rink turned community centre.
Before the new flooring can be installed, repairs need to be made to the concrete inside the facility and grading to the exterior to prevent water from damaging the new floor.
The community recreation centre is used for music, meetings and weddings. With new flooring, officials hope to attract more people to the facility.
A group of seniors uses the facility each week for activities, including indoor walking. Donna Howick, Joyce Sunderland and Lynn Chaplin said the facility is important to maintaining their health, especially in the winter.
Wembley and District Agricultural Society
Multi-sport Flooring for Recreation Centre
Wembley, Alta.
Awarded $25,000
At first glance the Community Recreation Centre in Wembley looks like the perfect space for dances, meetings and weddings. Look closer and you see a deep crack in the concrete from water leaking into the hall. With help from an RCF grant the concrete floor will be fixed and new sports flooring will be added.
Continue reading...The hall is the only large community space in town and has become an important meeting place in the summer and the winter, but was dealt a blow by a fire in 2020. The centre was repaired, but a new floor will allow the space to be transformed into a sports facility for volleyball and basketball or aerobics and fitness. Seniors can continue to use the facility as their indoor exercise location with a softer landing if they fall. The updated floor will also attract more weddings to the community from the surrounding region.
Friends of Morrin School Council, secretary Robyn Harvey and president Julie Robison, hold the Hub poster which shows how their old Morrin school gym will be transformed into a shop, fitness centre and art studio for the school and the community.
Members of the Friends of Morrin School Council Corinna Borsheim, Robyn Harvey and Julie Robison look at the Hub poster. The hallway behind the trio is the yellow part of the poster. The old gym lockers will now be the science lab when part of the old school gets demolished and the gym area repurposed.
Julie Robison, Robyn Harvey and Corinna Borsheim stand beside the Morrin School sign. The school renovations will ensure the school and community remain viable.
Corinna Borsheim, Julie Robison and Robyn Harvey stand in the area which will become a breezeway between the old school gymnasium and the new school.
Friends of Morrin School Council
The Hub
Morrin, Alta.
Awarded $25,000
Co-operation was key to the Hub, a community and school space in the old Morrin School gymnasium. The school, school board, parents and community members worked together to design a space in the old school gymnasium that could become an area for students and the community.
Continue reading...When part of the old school needed to be replaced, the groups worked together to identify the community considerations. The key priority was having an area where students could take shop, carpentry and mechanics classes. After school, the area can be used by community groups, like the local 4-H club. The old gym will also house science, art and fitness areas for school and community use. A breezeway will connect the new school and the old school gymnasium. The $25,000 grant will be used to help purchase supplies in the Hub area that will keep the community connected and thriving.
The K-6 children at New Brigden school jump for joy they will soon get a new community hall.
The K-6 children at New Brigden school jump for joy they will soon get a new community hall.
The day after the community hall burned down the students found a Christmas decoration that had somehow escaped the fire. The decoration is a precious reminder of the hall and has a permanent spot in the school library. The Grade 6 students are Ridge Foot, Quade Tye, Alaina Hagens and Jully Fehr.
Joan Jorgensen, president of the New Brigden Community Association looks at an old photo of the community hall in a community history book. Inside the book are many memories and photos that were lost when their hall burned down.
New Brigden Community Association
New Brigden Community Hall
New Brigden, Alta.
Awarded $18,000
While insurance will pay for much of the new $2 million community hall, it won’t pay for it all. The $18,000 RCF grant is earmarked for a UFA meeting room. The hall really was the hub of the community. It was used for bridal showers, weddings, funerals, family reunions, New Year’s galas and the rest of the events the small community held. With a larger kitchen and accessible bathrooms, organizers hope the new hall will continue to be the centre of the community for the school children and the district.