The Winter Children's Festival held January 25, was organized by Meadow Lake's Chamber of Commerce and KidsFirst in partnership and sponsorship with Sask Lotteries, Meadow Lake Co-op and Meadow Lake Extra Foods. (submitted photo/ Meadow Lake Chamber of Commerce)

By Nicole Reis

WINTER CHILDREN'S FESTIVAL DONATION

Local Chamber of Commerce donates event proceeds to KidsFirst

Jul 15, 2020 | 4:04 PM

Meadow Lake’s Chamber of Commerce handed KidsFirst a donation on July 15 as part of the admission collected from the first Winter Children`s Festival held in January.

The chamber organized the event as part of broader mandate to facilitate stronger community connections between local businesses and non-profit organizations.

John Decker, operations manager with Meadow Lake Co-op and vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, presented KidsFirst with a cheque for over $1,400. Decker told meadowlakeNOW the chamber aims to redefine itself and provide better support to the community than in the past.

“It’s amazing the work that KidsFirst [does] and just how widespread,” he said. “It’s a huge support to the community.”

Nearly 150 kids and families took part in the Winter Children’s Festival and the chamber’s administrator Trevor Dignean said chamber staff are looking forward to developing more youth activities in the future.

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KidsFirst program manager Lori Albert and Meadow Lake Chamber of Commerce vice president John Decker. (Nicole Reis/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

According to the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s (SHA) website, KidsFirst is an early childhood development program intended to provide vulnerable children with the best possible start in life to ensure they are nurtured and supported. The Ministry of Education funds the service while the SHA delivers its programming.

Program manager, Lori Albert said her staff painted faces and flipped dozens of burgers at the kids event and while there were no plans yet for future activities, the organization will find a way to give back to the community through draws, giveaways and packages.

“Especially now, when people are at home more due to the pandemic,” she said. “We’ve been creating activity packages, so we may continue with that.”

KidsFirst has recently completed renovations on its new family resource facility which staff hope will open in the coming weeks after provincial reopen guidelines are released. More information about the Meadow Lake’s Early Years Family Resource Centre can be found here.

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nicole.reis@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @nicolereis7722