The idea of prairie hospitality and togetherness was evident when hundreds of people came together in Oxbow on Saturday, Sept. 13, to enjoy a meal, camaraderie, and entertainment as they attended the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Saskatchewan Flood Aid benefit.
The benefit was organized by community-minded individuals following the flooding event that took place the end of June. Â鶹ÊÓƵeast Saskatchewan was particularly struck hard and in response businesses and individuals from various communities began searching for a way to help.
Proceeds for the event will be going towards the communities of Carievale, Gainsborough, Storthoaks, Alida, and Redvers to help rebuild after suffering the devastation of the rain.
The event brought together communities surrounding these towns and R.M.'s affected by the flooding event.
With an outpouring of support the event saw numerous cash donations from businesses and individuals. A total of 73 silent auction items were displayed around the Oxbow Prairie Horizon School gymnasium. This included everything from a dinner and movie in Carlyle to clothing to various gift baskets, jewelry, and more.
The live auction was very successful with large donations from many with a 2014 Dodge Chrysler 200 LX being the largest and final item up for bid. Bidders went high for it with the car auctioning off for $18,500, this meant that the donations put towards purchasing the car were brought back in along with 2,500 more.
The car had major sponsors approached specifically for purchasing the car in order to auction it off. Power Dodge in Estevan gave the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Saskatchewan Flood Aid a break by allowing them to have the car for dealer cost and they paid the taxes.
The live auction itself had over 100 items up for bid and brought in $63,000.
One of the event organizers, Shirley Galloway, was blown away by the generosity of people in the area explaining many of the auction items went for very good prices: "There was a hand-stitched king sized quilt that went for either $1,500 or $1,600 which was fantastic."
With numerous items donated, a Chinese auction was also held and many door prizes were won throughout the night.
Those in attendance were happy to be there exclaiming how great it was that so many people were coming together for such a cause.
"We sold about 400 tickets for dinner and another 125 came through the doors after supper," Galloway said.
"The southeast is a very generous part of the province. Regardless of where you come from or who you are people rally together to help each other I'm in Oxbow and this just showed me we're not just our little community, we're all one big community."
People attended the benefit from Estevan, Carlyle, Alida, Storthoaks, Oxbow, and many more towns and R.M.s in the area coming together to help their neighbours in time of need.
Musical talent included the extremely talented pianist, David Hyman, Product of Canada, and Jimmy G & the Cable Guys. All of which were greatly enjoyed by the amassed crowd throughout the evening.
The evening therefore not only provided entertainment, but was a great way to fundraise for those affected by the flooding.
"It was a lot of fun," Galloway stated. "Our committee was wonderful, they all worked so hard, and not even our committee but our volunteers, those who attended, everyone who bought stuff, and those who made stuff. We're very, very thankful for the support. It's overwhelming."
The money raised will be divided between communities to their EMO's. The EMO's will either ask for applications or decide how to disperse the funds in their community.
Final numbers are still being tallied with the committee having raised approximately $95,000. This number has the potential to still increase as they continue to accept donations. Money for tickets are still being collected, and funds will likely be completely tallied in a month.
Overall people were amazed and overwhelmed by the togetherness and generosity of southeast Saskatchewan residents in coming together for communities hit hard by the devastating flooding event at the end of June this year.
