Irricana and Beiseker’s RCMP and Emergency Service personnel were showcased in a 2023 calendar earlier this year in support of Irricana’s ECS Kindergarten and Playschool – a local, privately-run Kindergarten.
The school has, for the last 30 years, offered Kindergarten programming to five-year-olds in Irricana, serving as a nearby option for families who don’t want (or are unable) to send their children to schools in Kathyrn or Beiseker.
The Irricana Kindergarten Society is a privately run Kindergarten and its operation is governed by parents of enrolled children. Classes are held from September to May at the Irricana Hall.
According to Roxana Campbell, coordinator of ECS Kindergarten and Playschool, the Heroes of Irricana 2023 Calendar was spearheaded by one of the fundraising coordinators for the Irricana Kindergarten Society.
She said the society wanted the Kindergarteners to see their local heroes presented in the calendar.
“It was a good chance for the kids to see their heroes in uniform and then they’re not so scary,” Campbell told the Rocky View Weekly. “They see them, and it hopefully encourages them to look at stuff like that for careers.”
But more than anything, Campbell said the calendar helps to bring different members of the community together. She said she worked over several weeks to arrange a meet-and-greet between local firefighters, RCMP officers, and the children.
“We thought it would be a good thing for the kids to see [their heroes in person],” she said. “That was a couple of weeks process, trying to arrange times and then one of our parents, [who is] actually a professional photographer, was the one doing the pictures.”
Though she tried to arrange a time to meet with EMS personnel, they weren’t able to coordinate a time for pictures. She said the entire project was completed with the help of volunteers, and other than the cost of printing the calendars, they were completely free to make.
Campbell said the fundraiser is now closed, as all of the calendars ordered have been sold.
“I can’t even tell you the amount we pre-ordered, but they all sold out, and then we did order another batch that has been sold,” she said, adding the fundraiser was highly successful in raising money for the organization.
Looking to the future, Campbell said the ECS Playschool will be doing an online silent auction in May as a second fundraising event – a follow-up to a successful silent auction held last year.
“We had a tremendous turnout from the community as a whole,” Campbell recalled. “There was interest and donations from a lot of local businesses and organizations.”
Those interested in learning more about the upcoming silent auction are encouraged to watch out for an event page on the Town of Irricana Facebook.
