From left to right is PAACF board member Jennifer Brouwer and Executive Director of the Canadian Mental Health Association Doug Kinar in front of the area where CMHA's new hydroponic gardens will be located. (submitted photo/ Marilyn Peterson)

By Ian Gustafson

Lending A Hand

PAACF distribute grants individually to local organizations

Jul 9, 2020 | 5:17 PM

This year the COVID-19 pandemic has changed how the public operates on a daily basis.

For the Prince Albert and Area Community Foundation (PAACF) it changed the way they hand out their grants.

Every other year PAACF hosts a ceremony and invites the grant recipients to receive their donations. This year, since they were unable to have a large gathering, the PAACF went to the recipients individually and presented them with their cheques.

Executive Director of PAACF Marilyn Peterson told paNOW each time she and another board member went to these local organizations, they were able to see how things work for that individual organization.

“It was a wildly successful approach. We’re wondering how we can incorporate some of that at least into the next few years,” Peterson said. “It gave board members a great insight into how things happen and a picture as to where things happen.”

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The organizations receiving a grant include: Association des Parents Fransaskois, St Alban’s Cathedral, Catholic Family Services, Canadian Mental Health Association Prince Albert, CPL Recreation, Family Futures, Jubilation Residential Centres Inc., Make-A-Wish Foundation, P.A. Branch of Inclusion Sask., P.A. Mobile Crisis, P.A. Multicultural Council, Saskatchewan Environmental Society, S.H.A.R.E Prince Albert and the YWCA Prince Albert.

Choosing which organizations to give grants to, Peterson said is there biggest challenge ever year because they always receive more applications than donations are available to cover. They look at a number of things such as if there is a need to determine how to distribute the funds.

“This year I think we had in the twenties (applicants) that we received,” she said.

One of the 14 grants given out was $10,000 to the YWCA Prince Albert for their Our House program.

CEO Donna Brooks told paNOW the funds will go toward the operation of their cold weather shelter which operates in the basement of Our House. The shelter operates from Oct. 15 to April 15 of each year and helps people stay out of the cold when they have nowhere else to go.

“We operate 10 beds down there on a first come first serve basis,” she said.

All of their beds are generally full throughout the winter months and they also provide users with breakfast among other things. She added to run the shelter for those months it costs just over $100,000 so the grant received will be well utilized.

“It’s an important portion. For example our food costs are probably around $10,000 so if we didn’t have that we wouldn’t have the funding to feed people,” she explained.

The Canadian Mental Health Association Prince Albert branch also received $8,000 to develop hydroponic gardens in their building to produce vegetables for their lunch program.

“We serve lunch every day we are open to anywhere between 20 to 40 people, so we serve 7,200 meals per year,” Executive Director Doug Kinar said.

From early March until now they’ve been closed but plan to reopen in the next two weeks.

“The idea behind it is we’re going to start growing vegetables year-round and be able to supplement what we do with our lunch program,” he explained. “Food security is a high priority for peoples’ mental health. If you don’t have anything to eat then your stress levels go up of course and your focus becomes trying to get something to eat.”

The total amount donated by PAACF to all 14 organizations was $85,937.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca