Five local charities received a piece of Airdrie and District Community Foundation’s (ADCF) largest total donation to date of $25,000 during a June 9 funding announcement held at Woodside Golf Course.
Among this year’s funding recipients were the Airdrie Public Library, Community Choir, Bethany Care Foundation, Airdrie and District Victims Assistance Society, and North Rocky View Community Links.
As a registered community foundation, ADCF’s focus is to create a permanent financial legacy for Airdrie’s charities and non-profit organizations.
Several of its donors were present at Woodside to catch the smiles on the faces of those who work for the charitable organizations as they received their cheques and to talk about how people can get involved.
The foundation accepts tax-deductible donations, holding the principle part of those investments in perpetuity while donating the interest and earnings every year to worthy organizations via an application process.
The library’s gift of $2,800 came via a donation from John and Peggy Graham – a local Airdrie couple that previously established a sub-fund through ADCF to support programs and initiatives pertaining to early childhood literacy, explained Dale Rathgeber, chair of ADCF.
While some major donors can choose their charity to donate to every year, the Graham’s fund is specifically earmarked to support early childhood literacy.
Peggy Graham spoke before the donation announcements to share some of the couple’s story. Her husband, John, has been an advocate of community foundations, she said, believing in their strength to develop sustainable and effective community support.
The Grahams decided to dedicate their fund to early childhood literacy as Peggy has been an educator her entire career and witnessed the direct impact of early literacy skills on the rest of a child’s life.
“Literacy is the essence of making meaning in our world, it is the power of thinking to communicate and understand. It is the basis of critical thinking,” she said.
APL staff thanked the fund and foundation for their donation, adding they will use these funds to begin building an APL-owned children’s picture E-book collection. The collection will provide a wider selection of available titles at reduced wait-times, increasing accessibility for parents in providing the early foundation of early literacy.
The Airdrie Community Choir then received $1,000, which they plan to use to purchase music for choir members and rehearsal space rentals.
Robin Upham, the vice-president of the group, said this the choir’s 36th year of bringing choral music to Airdrie and surrounding communities.
“Our organization encourages artistic excellence and has a vision for artistic development that acknowledges its audience, donors, members, and sponsors,” he said.
With live performances being shut down or modified over the last few years due to COVID-19 restrictions, the choir offered virtual concerts via YouTube to all seniors' lodges for free instead.
Upham added they have their main live concert coming up on June 18 and 19 at the Lutheran Church in Airdrie.
The Bethany Care Society of Airdrie will be utilizing their $2,500 donation for their musical therapy program.
“Music therapy has long been considered beneficial for individuals living with dementia, music has a wide range of positive effects on the brain and can be used to soothe or energize, help recall past memories, and encourage movement through tapping, swaying, or dancing,” said Amtul Siddiqui, the director of philanthropy at the Bethany Care Foundation.
She added that residents in musical therapy have been observed to have reduced anxiety levels, reduced pain levels, decreased depression symptoms, lower blood pressure, and a better immune system.
Established in 1945, Bethany Care Society is one of western Canada's largest non-for-profit care services and affordable housing for over 2,000 seniors and adults with disabilities.
Airdrie and District Victims Assistance Society (ADVAS) received $7,300, which they will use to continue providing non-criminal support throughout the community.
In May, ADVAS provided more than 60 hours of on-site non-criminal support, including next-of-kin notifications, sudden deaths, fires that displace community members from their homes, and more.
In addition to continuing to provide that support, ADVAS hopes to offer more affordable and timely mental health support.
“We named the project associated with these funds ‘Always there for Airdrie and district’ because we truly mean it. These funds allow us to be there 24/7 365 days a year, to be there for the members of the community,” said the ADVAS staff member when accepting the cheque.
North Rocky View Community Links received $11,500 to continue offering free single-session counselling support.
Laurie Jacob-Toews, community connections manager of Community Links, said COVID-19 made the social services agency rethink how they offer support and start offering single-session counselling to those who needed it most.
“Evidence has shown that through single session counselling, community members are able to receive immediate assistance and the skills they need when they are most vulnerable,” Jacob-Toews said.
Clients attend one free session before being transferred or referred to longer-term support. Subsequent counselling sessions at Community Links are offered for a low rate of $10 per session. From Jan. 1 until May 31, the program supported 97 individuals in the community and this funding will allow Community Links to address the increased demand.
On top of ADCF’s $25,000 donation, Rathgeber also announced the foundation was granted permission by Airdrie City council to have their donor recognition tree put up at Genesis Place Recreation Centre.
"It was an easy decision for council to make that spot available at Genesis Place,” said Mayor Peter Brown, who took part in founding the foundation over a decade ago.
Rathgerber thanked the donors in attendance, adding ADCF hopes to become the heart and soul of the charitable sector of Airdrie, just as other community foundations are for their communities.
