2025 Community and International Investments
2025 Holiday Food & Toy Drive
When Quesnel Good Cheer closed down after Christmas 2019, Coral Byrd decided to put together something for local families and we helped her cover some of the expenses for some space in West Park Mall.
Of course she was never going to get away with doing it for only one year and now, five years later, she is coordinating a community-wide program, the goal being to provide 150 families with grocery essentials and age-appropriate toys.
We have Community Grant fund expenses approved by BC Gaming and, having got a shopping list from Coral, we delivered
- 3 bottles of dishwashing liquid,
- 24 containers of antiperspirant/deodorant,
- over 1kg of soap,
- nearly 2kg of body spray,
- 85 tubes of toothpaste,
- 70 bottles containing over 36 litres of bodywash,
- 95 bottles containing nearly 47 litres of shampoo, and
- 34 bottles containing over 144 litres of laundry detergent...
…all in all, $2,000-worth of items.
Thanks to a multitude of drop-off boxes, fundraising events, and toy drives, Coral's program was able to support the families of over 700 children.
Formidable work by her, fantastic support from the community, she'll be up and running for 2026 - join her Facebook group page via this link, https://www.facebook.com/share/g/14WW8kp6omS/
Just one of several drop-offs by President Linda and her husband Simon
to Coral's temporary second home in West Park Mall.
Quesnel Special Olympics
For three years now, we have hosted a Welcome back evening for the local athletes and coaches at the end of the summer break, both to recognize the efforts and achievements of these wonderful community ambassadors but also to encourage registration for the year ahead.
To help cover the cost, club members pay for their pizza dinner and/or sponsor tables but, this year, we were able to cover all expenses from our Community Grant from BC Gaming, so we donated that sponsorship money direct to Quesnel Special Olympics. Only $440 but we know it will be put to good use.
In the absence of an ailing President Linda, President-Elect Tim Hall did the honours at our lunchtime meeting of December 4th.
Starfish Pack Program
Our club helped establish a program in Quesnel in 2021 and, through the sustained tireless work of Quesnel Tillicum Society, it now reaches children in four local schools.
On 21st August, we presented QTS Executive Director (and our Club President from 2024-25) Tony Goulet with a cheque for $1,000, accumulated through our Happy Bucks, the donations made by club members to make personal announcements at our lunchtime meetings.
While holding one of the Program's backpacks,
Tony Goulet accepts our cheque from 2025-26 President Linda Turner
Nourish Food Bank
From our Dazzle in Disguise event…
2025-26 Presidential Message
InSong Quesnel Youth Choir
We have had the good fortune to be able to provide financial support before to this gifted group, established in August 2015, which is why they include us on the event posters and brochures, but we are partiucularly happy to be able to assist with the cost of three choristers competing at the Performing Arts B.C. Provincial Festival, June 1st-5th, by way of a $1,200 grant.
No cheque presentation picture so we'll show off our logo appearing on their most recent concert poster...and their certificate for recording 2nd place!!
To catch their future performances, follow their Facebook page, InSong - Quesnel Youth Choir
Meals for Seniors
April 7th: For the North Cariboo Seniors' Council program and under the watchful eye of NCSC director Anita Dobie, we peeled, grated, sliced, diced, baked, cooked, and carved our way to 174 packaged meals of ham, broccoli, and scalloped potatoes for distribution amongst local seniors. Courtesy of our BC Gaming Community Grant, also sponsored the cost of just over $500.
Although not the first time we've prepared such meals for NCSC, it was Anita's first time working with us...and we can only hope she recovers from the trauma of working with so many A-types!
Plenty more pictures in our photo album by clicking here.
Peeling, grating, slicing, dicing, boiling, baking, and cooking...
Back to back are Carol Mankowske and Anita Dobie; then, clockwise is Keith Corbett, Linda Turner, Jan Digman, Sheila Pritchard, Pam Devereux, Barb Clapton, and Jasmin Sczesny.
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Job done!
Once the lids were put on, all were packed over to the NCSC office from where they will be distributed to local seniors.
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Quesnel Model Railway Club
These dedicated people got an unexpected and not very nice surprise when City of Quesnel levied a $574.35 utilities bill on them...for basically a basin and toilet at their space in West Park Mall.
With no time to raise the funds themselves, we were happy to help cover the bill, in the knowledge they will make provision for next year and beyond.
Be sure to go see there display!
Grandmothers to Grandmothers
Our club members make a small donation, minimum $1, to make personal announcements - we call them "Happy Bucks" - and every so often we designate a particular amount to a particular organization. One such designation was $1,000 to the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation.
You can learn about the Campaign by clicking here but, in short, Campaign groups raise funds in their communities to support the life-enhancing programs run by grandmothers in Africa and the community-led organizations who support them.
In Quesnel, that group is the Gold Pan Grannies who bake and amazing shortbread, and hold yarn and fabric sales, and, at our lunchtime meeting of 16th January, we handed over our $1,000 to them to send on to the Campaign.
Click on the images to enlarge
Past President (and Gold Pan Granny) Marg Anderson, Sharlene Logan, Anne Sutton, Lou Brisco, and President-Elect Linda Turner.
2024-25 Rotary Internation Theme
(the final one...)