Nearly a year-and-a-half after Yorkton and District Nursing Home's bus had to be taken off the road, a new one is on its way.
"The bus failed its safety inspection in May of 2013 and has been off the road since then," said Ross Fisher, Health Foundation executive director. "The nursing home and wellness centre gave tried to make do with city transit since that time, but that simply doesn't work."
So, the Health Foundation went to work raising $57,000 of the $97,000 purchase price. Last week, the Kinsmen Telemiracle Foundation came through with the other $40,000 in a donation.
"The Health Foundation and community made this an easy decision for Telemiracle as they had already raised 60 per cent of the funds needed when they applied for assistance," said David Johnson, president of the Yorkton Kinsmen. "When Kinsmen Foundation considers a donation they want to see that the community supports a project, and clearly the community had already stepped up in this case."
Dana Prystupa, from the Yorkton Kinettes, said it is a cause that is near to everyone's hearts.
"Whether it's our own parents or grandparents or a friend, we could all relate to the difficulty people with limited mobility have when they try to get around the community," she said.
Ron Hanishewsky, former local president and now Kin Canada national president acknowledge the hard work of the local Kinsmen and Kinette clubs saying it is very gratifying to see their fundraising efforts rewarded with money coming back to the community.
Also a former director of the Kinsmen Foundation, Hanishewsky share insight that the nursing home bus is just the kind of project the board likes to support.
"A bus for the residents of the nursing home has a huge effect on the quality of life of the people living in the nursing home," he said. "This bus will be in service for the next 20 years, so this donation will have a positive impact in the community for a long time."
Fisher expects the vehicle will be delivered by the end of October or early November. Once in service it will be used for a wide range of purposes. Twice a week it will pick up and drop off participants to the Day Wellness Program.
The bus will also be used for all kinds of recreational outings from simple picnics to community events such as baseball games, the Harvest Showdown, concerts and pretty much anything residents might want to attend.
