Another Casino fund raising event has come and gone for WPSS. It was a fairly quiet event, so not a lot of stress on our volunteers. Fortunately profits from these events are pooled into an Edmonton region pool for each quarter of the year. As we worked in July, we were part of the 3d quarter pool. All profits share designated for the participating charites are divided equally among the organizations which worked in this quarter. Since this extends to the end of September, we won’t find out what our share is until late in November. Each year that we have been involved in this event we have received approximately $60,000.00 – $95,000.00 so hopefully we will again be in this range.
Doing this one fund raiser roughly every 18 months sure beats monthly bingos, auctions and other types of fund raising activities – far less work and way more money!! I believe we, the volunteers, are all somewhat bagged after this effort but we got through it and had fun doing it. I am happy to be retired and able to take Friday to recover. I’m pretty sure that the rest of the volunteer crew feel the same!
I want to send a special thank – you to Marie and George Kunec. These two worked tirelessly to organize the event and navigate the treacherous pathway through the AGLC rules and regulations, to recruit the volunteer crew members and set up the shift schedules. They also were on hand at Yellowhead Casino both mornings at 9:00 AM to get things rolling, staying around until 3:00 PM when Pat Murray relieved them. They went home for a rest and were back on the job to relieve Pat by 10:00 PM and closed things down at 3:30 PM. That is what I call DEDICATION!! I can’t say thank-you enough.
For the first time in all the years we have been doing the casino we had to rely on “casino angels”, a group of people who fill staffing shortcomings for a fee when needed. We just did not get enough participation from our group to fill all the positions. I know we are all getting older and it gets harder each year to put in these long and late hours. However, this event represents the money pot which allows WPSS to continue to function; to publish the Polio News, to run the web site, to offer the reimbursement program and the water exercise program at the ACT pool as well as the social functions which we sponsor every few months. In short, the Casino Event is vital to our very existence. If WPSS is important to you, please consider, if you are at all able, to volunteer a shift or two or even a partial shift. If you cannot, that’s ok too but perhaps you can recruit a friend or relative to fill in with us. Our next casino hopefully will happen in 18 months time and the time to think about making the commitment is now. The more volunteers we have, the fewer hours everyone has to commit!
Please, please give it some serious consideration!
SALUTING OUR CASINO VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers continue to be the HEART of the Wildrose Polio Support Society. Their commitment and dedication is impressive, encouraging and makes achieving our goals possible.
One of the greatest sources of joy in volunteering comes from knowing you made a difference. You helped someone and you made the world a better place.
One tree can start a forest,
One smile can start a friendship,
One touch can show love and care,
And ONE person…like YOU, can make
“Life Worth Living”.
Thank you to the following volunteer workers who generously donated their time, resources and energy to make our 2023 casino a success.
| Pat Murray
Colin Parker Iris Parker Rick Meunier Ann Meunier Bernd Schwanke Valerie Hitchen John Sugden Mario Lindsay Bernie Hornung Deborah Rice Marj Wiebe Ken Wiebe Sandra Mooney Pat Mooney Jonathan Smethurst Deborah Smethurst Yvette Smethurst Rose Bazinet Joe Kokotilo Karen Johnson Emily Leitch Bob Leitch Marie Kunec George Kunec
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Volunteer action is like a stone thrown into a lake. We can see and hear the direct impact. Then the gentle ripples happen. Consider the ripples to be volunteers’ efforts spreading energy and skills to help others and enrich our organization.
“Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless”
–Sherry Anderson