The City of Fernie has announced the 13 recipients of its 2020 Discretionary Grants, which will go to programs aimed at supporting the local community.
The City said the Council allocates $18,000 for grants to fund events, programs or projects to support local culture, heritage, recreation, arts, or health activities. It added that a total of $43,300 in requests has been submitted to Council in 2020.
“There are so many groups doing excellent work in the community and having the opportunity to support them through this funding stream is very important,” explained Mayor Qualizza. “The biggest challenge is determining how to distribute the funds between so many worthy initiatives.”
The recommendations from the Discretionary Grant Committee were decided on the Council’s February 10th regular meeting.
The 13 grant recipients are as follows:
Association Francophone Des Rocheuses Du Sud – $2,500- Funds will be used to hire a Francophone musical band for the June 2020 Francofest.
Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy – $1,050 Funds will be used to support the Drop-In Learning Place, a local out‐reach program supporting literacy skills.
Columbia Basin Environmental Education Network – $600 – Funds will be used to support the program Wild Voices, providing presentations and field outings for students to learn about their local environment.
CWA Foundation Fernie – $3,000 – Funds will be used to purchase trishaw bikes so that volunteers may provide bike rides for people with limited mobility.
Elk Valley Gymnastics Club – $1,500 – Funds will be used to assist with the costs of hosting the Rocky Mountain Tumble, a large-scale gymnastics meet.
Fernie Heritage Cemetery Restoration Society – $1,000 – Funds will be used to research the life of internees buried in the old section of St. Margaret’s Cemetery, host presentations on St. Margaret Cemetery internees and maintain an interactive public website.
Fernie Mountain Film Festival Society – $750 – Funds will be used to assist with the costs of hosting the film festival.
Fernie Nordic Society – $500 – Funds will be used to assist with the costs of renting a shuttle bus for the Fernie Flying Viking Challenge event.
Fernie Pride Society – $1,500- Funds will be used to provide information and resources for local families, programming for local youth and to assist with the costs of community events.
Fernie Youth Action Network – $1,000 – Funds will be used to support the 2020 Community Engagement Project, an initiative to increase youth community engagement.
Ghostrider Adventure Camp Foundation – $2,000- Funds will be used to cover the costs of camp attendance for four children from Fernie.
Reel Canadian Film Society – $1,300 – Funds will be used to assist with the costs of hosting the festival in its first year as an independent organization.
Senior Citizens Club of Fernie & District – $1,300 – Funds will be used to assist with the costs of participation in the BC 55+ Games in Richmond, BC.