Thompson’s 737 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets will receive the December donation from 100 Women Who Care, which held their meeting to hear three pitches and pick a winner Dec. 4 at R’ Place restaurant.
The cadets beat out the Boreal Discovery Centre and the Thompson Badminton Club in their appeal for the cash, which should total somewhere around $6,000.
The donation will go towards buying cross-country skis, boots and poles as well as marksmanship equipment so Thompson cadets can practice and compete in biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing withe target rifle shooting.
“The donation tonight will be a huge impact for our youth,” said 737 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets commanding officer Capt. Dan Colosie. “Right now our squadron is a little bit on the behind side and, when I say a little bit, I mean way behind as far as biathlon equipment goes.”
Colosie said he expected the money would be enough for about five sets of ski equipment to outfit a team of competitors. Any left over will go towards replacing other equipment like white boards that the cadets use in their training.
The Boreal Discovery Centre, which was also one of the runners-up at the September meeting of 100 Women Who Care, wanted the money to put towards an interior mural of the seven sacred teachings, led by Jasyn Lucas in an interactive and educational workshop with local youth.
The badminton club would have used the money to purchase equipment and to provide year-long memberships to six youth who might not otherwise get the chance to play badminton.
The runners-up were encouraged to submit their proposals again, as some other organizations that were eventually successful in securing donations didn’t win the vote until their fifth time.
100 Women Who Care aims to grow to include 100 local women who will donate $100 four times a year to local organizations chosen by vote. Right now there are about 60 members, some of whom donate money but don’t attend meetings or participate in the votes. Their next meeting will be held in March. For more information about the organization, check out their Facebook group.
100 Women Who Care has now donated about $97,000 to local causes sinces being formed.
