2024 Community Investments
VoSSA Concert grants
On 11th July, Quesnel and District Community Arts Council hosted a concert featuring local saxophonist Lena Cuglietta with vocalist Ela Alegre...VoSSa, all the way from Hong Kong!
Lena and Ela insisted the event be by donation only, with the proceeds going to Quesnel-local musical talent. In turn, the Arts Council entrusted us with finding suitable recipients.
At our lunchtime meeting on 1st August, Lena’s mother, Gay, presented us with an envelope containing $1405 with which our Board was tasked to decide how best to invest. Having advertised the availability of grants of $500-$600, our Board selected the two most compelling submissions:
- Quesnel Community Band, $700 to acquire music, and
- Correlieu Jazz Band, $700 towards the cost of their year-end trip to perform at the Desert Sands School in Ashcroft.
In turn, we welcomed back Gay at our 5th December lunchtime meeting to be involved in presenting our grant cheques to Jeff Dinsdale for Quesnel Community Band, and Shawn Smith, Michael Levac, and Lizzy Masson for Correlieu Jazz Band.
In case you’re wondering, the other $5 went towards a separate grant of our own to InSong Youth Choir.
Click on the images below to enlarge
Rotary International theme for 2024-25
Quesnel Community Band
Thanks in no small part to RCMP officer Cody Brown, Quesnel Community Band is becoming active again after a few quiet years, underlined by the COVID19-enforced break. Simply put, folks found other things to do.
As a result of club member donations by way of what we call Happy Bucks (essentially, members make a donation of an amount of their chosing in return for making personal announcements), we were able to donate $500 towards the purchase of new music so as to refresh and expand their repertoire.
"The Quesnel Community Band is a concert band comprised of enthusiastic musicians with a range of experience. Please message us if you are interested in joining and contributing to our community through music."
Click here for their Facebook page, or email Cody at cody.a.brown1992@gmail.com, or just drop in, Wednesday evenings, 6.30pm, Northstar Church - subject to a gentle audition, you could be their missing piece!
At the Farmers' Market on Saturday May 11th, Rotarians Sarah Brown, left, and Liane Kimmie, right, presented Cody with our cheque.
Quesnel Search & Rescue
From funds raised by our Cariboo Craft Beer Festival, we were able to provide Quesnel Search & Rescue with a $3,000 grant towards their purchase of a portable power box for use with critical communications equipment such as radio repeaters, satellite communications equipment, and mapping tablets – the last thing you want happening in the field are drained batteries!
The unit purchased is a Dakota Lithium Powerbox, specifically designed as a waterproof and submersible mobile power station and solar generator for use in extreme environments. Capable of jump-starting a vehicle, power devices and small appliances, charge phones, laptops and tablets, camera equipment, TVs and monitors, medical devices, power tools…even a portable fridge.
Thanks to QSAR Directors Bob Holowenko and Bob Zimmerman for telling us about their purchase at our lunchtime meeting on 2nd May at which we presented them with our grant cheque.
2021-22 President Bev Haluschak presents Bob Holowenko with our grant cheque
Click on the images below to enlarge
InSong Quesnel Youth Choir
Not only does InSong provide an artistic outlet for local young voices - this year, the organizers brought choirs to Quesnel from Kelowna and Fort St John to their "Melody Makers" Childrens Choral Conference.
We leapt at the opportunity to contribute and did so by way of a grant for $1,170 to purchase and reproduce music for the event. As you can see from the Photo Album, they got full use!
A special shout-out to Rotarians Bev haluschak, Carol Mankowske, and Sheila Pritchard who, along with Melanie MacKinnon and Anna Allen, made this Conference and Concert possible.
Click on images to enlarge
Meals for Seniors
Preparing boxed meals has turned into a very welcome habit!
We've done stew and meatloaf - this time it was Brunch-in-a-box!
For the program run by North Cariboo Seniors' Council, we gatherd on March 8th to put together 192 or so meals , each container holding waffles, chicken, and an eggs-cheese-peppers-potato concoction that is the very definition of stick-to-ya-ribs.
We missed getting pictures of the cheese grating, egg cracking, pepper slicing, and waffle mix mixing, our peeps were just too darn focused on getting the job done, but thanks go to Sheila Pritchard, Jasmin Sczesny, Bill Clapton, Tania Milliken, Rick Prosk, Emma Dyer, Tim Hall, Bev Haluschak, Diane Rogers, Simon Turner, Andre Postmus, and our two organizers, Linda Turner (Herder of Cats) and Nicole Audet (Kitchen Boss).
NCSC will be distributing the meals to local seniors.
A couple of pictures below - click here for the rest.
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Rotary International 2023-24 Theme