The latest edition of the Coffee Talk sessions hosted by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce focused on the value of philanthropy, the generosity of the local business community and the giving nature of Estevan鈥檚 residents.
The session on Wednesday at the Days Inn featured a panel with four speakers: Breanne Van de Woestyne from the St. Joseph鈥檚 Hospital Foundation, Sheila Guenther with the United Way Estevan, Josh LeBlanc with Coldwell Banker Choice Real Estate and Brian Enns from the 小蓝视频ern Plains Co-op.
Each person talked about how they have experienced the generosity of Estevan and how they believe philanthropy can be beneficial.
Guenther and Van de Woestyne are part of organizations that have their biggest fundraisers of the year upcoming.
The United Way鈥檚 43rd annual telethon will happen Oct. 18 and 19 at the Royal Canadian Legion鈥檚 Estevan branch.
Local businesses have been or will have fundraisers to help support the telethon. They feel an excitement when they invest in the community.
Guenther also praised the United Way鈥檚 Day of Caring, which is held in the spring each year.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really great team-building to be out of the office environment for one thing, and work together, and you get to see your co-workers in a different light and their different strengths, and it鈥檚 really an amazing opportunity. Everybody loves to come out for that.鈥�
The United Way also tries to get young people involved at the telethon. They have the ECS Takeover during the overnight hours, when students from the Estevan Comprehensive School come in to provide entertainment, host and volunteer in other capacities.
Van de Woestyne, meanwhile, is the executive director of the St. Joseph鈥檚 Hospital Foundation, which has its Festival of Trees happening from Nov. 15-17 at the Estevan Leisure Centre.
She said the foundation鈥檚 main goal is to work with local businesses and community members to raise funds and community awareness so that the foundation can purchase equipment, revitalize the hospital and recruit physicians.
鈥淥ur biggest way of doing that is through our events,鈥� said Van de Woestyne.
With this year鈥檚 Festival of Trees, they are making some changes, and partnering with the Estevan Kinettes Club on the Christmas Marketplace that same weekend.
鈥淚t just gives us a big opportunity to have a city-scale event in a smaller city, which is really cool to be a part of, and it takes a lot of support, not only from our board of directors and our staff, but our entire community,鈥� she said.
They want to create a family event with children running around and people excited about Christmas. The final event of the weekend, Santa鈥檚 Breakfast with the Bruins sponsored by Estevan Mercury Publications, is a good example of that.
Without the support of businesses and others in the community, there wouldn鈥檛 be a foundation and the hospital wouldn鈥檛 be as strong as it is. Much of the technology, such as the CT scanner, wouldn鈥檛 be there.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really grateful for that support, and we continue to work every day to bring something new to the table,鈥� Van de Woestyne said.
LeBlanc discussed his involvement with the Rafferty Rumble earlier this summer, an event that raised more than $56,000 for the partnering organizations.
Previously, he was involved with Savour the 小蓝视频east, which was also a successful fundraiser.
He said he decided to resurrect the Rafferty Rumble to offset funding cuts and volunteer fatigue with the Estevan Art Gallery and Museum.
鈥淚 would rather take the time and put it into bigger events,鈥� he said.
Events such as the Rafferty Rumble combat the mentality that there鈥檚 nothing to do in Estevan, they create something big in the community, and they create a big city feel in a smaller centre.
The Rumble also drew people to Fourth Street, creating a significant economic spinoff for local businesses.听
The event is going to be back again next year, but there will be some changes, based on the feedback they received.
An event like the Rumble wouldn鈥檛 happen without the contributions of the businesses, he said, and the volunteers who helped out.
Enns, who is the general manager for the 小蓝视频ern Plains Co-op, touched on what his business does in the community, but also how philanthropy can boost employee morale, and even retention.
They help out at many events in the community and many organizations have fundraising barbecues at the parking lot of their Estevan grocery store.
The co-op tracks volunteerism from its employees, and last year it had more than 700 from a store with more than 100 employees.
Young people have to believe in something to get them involved, but if they do, they will come to the table.
鈥淚 think Estevan is a very giving community. I think we鈥檝e seen it over and over again. The one thing we can鈥檛 have today, even though our population has declined slightly, we have can鈥檛 鈥� have the negative remarks.鈥�
Enns moved her five years ago to take the job with the co-op, and he said it鈥檚 the best thing he ever did.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great here. It鈥檚 warm. It鈥檚 very welcoming, and it鈥檚 nice to see people very committed to the city.鈥�
People who attended the coffee talk also had the opportunity to ask questions to the panel participants. Tania Andrist, who works for the Envision Counselling and Support Centre, which is a United Way member agency, wanted to tell the crowd how grateful she was for the support.
鈥淭his community just gives and gives and gives, and it鈥檚 actually chequebook giving,鈥� she said.
But she also talked about the importance of communicating gratitude to those who donate to their organizations.
Mayor Roy Ludwig echoed those statements, stressing the importance of communication with donors.
Enns pointed out from a business perspective that communication is vital, and he voiced his support for traditional conversations, with requests and thank yous coming through traditional face-to-face dialogue as opposed to text messages, e-mails and Facebook messages.
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