WEYBURN - The Weyburn Rotary Club have decided not to have chocolate-nut trays this year, citing uncertainties in the current situation around COVID in Saskatchewan, and in supplies.
Rotary members voted on Thursday to postpone the sale of trays, traditionally done as a major fundraiser prior to Christmas for Weyburn area businesses and individuals.
Members were concerned over the uncertainty over what COVID numbers may lead to in the coming weeks, plus there are questions about supply, attributed to the impact of COVID on certain items used in the trays.
In the meantime, Rotary members are actively promoting a number of other fundraisers, such as selling tickets for a raffle for a “Staycation”.
This raffle will give ticket buyers the chance to win a $300 gift certificate towards one of three destinations in Saskatchewan. In the coming weeks, Rotary Club members will have the tickets at tables set up at the Co-op food store and the Wholesale Club, and are available at the front desk at the Weyburn Review office.
Tickets are $5 each, and will provide the choice of staying at the Bessborough in Saskatoon, Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in Moose Jaw, or at the Delta Hotel in Regina. The first place ticket winner will have first choice of location, second prize will get to choose between the two remaining locations, and third prize gets the last remaining location.
The draw date will be Nov. 25, 2021, and there are only 2,100 tickets being sold.
There is also a collection underway of costume jewelry, handbags and women’s scarves. The club is asking for donations from any member of the public of items they no longer use, and the items will then be sold as a part of Weyburn’s Culture Days.
The plan is to have a table for the start of Culture Days, which has been moved from Sept. 25 to Oct. 16, due to a delay in the opening of the Credit Union Spark Centre.
There is also a fundraiser to guess the number of pennies in a mini hippo roller container, which was on display at the “Gifted” art show, and will be at the Culture Days event in October.
The aim of this is to raise funds to buy a full-sized “Hippo Roller”, which is used to transport water over any kind of terrain in areas where residents have to walk long distances to find a well and fill a bucket for use in their home.
A full-sized Hippo Roller was on display at Gifted, where a number of donations were made, and it will also be seen at the Culture Days table.
When full, the Hippo Roller can hold the equivalent of five 20-litre buckets of water, which are normally carried one at a time by women and girls in rural areas of countries that don’t have a developed water system available.
Another fundraiser will offer art works by Rotary Club members, to be sold online by silent auction. Pieces will be displayed at the Culture Days event, and will be provided by Jill Thorn, Regan Lanning, Sara Irwin, Gary Anderson, Grant Paulson and Brenda King.
All proceeds of the fundraisers will go towards the projects and organizations supported by the Weyburn Rotary Club.
