The Battlefords Boys and Girls Club is getting a funding boost thanks to the Association of Saskatchewan Realtors.
The provincial association has set up a legacy fund, called the Association of Saskatchewan Realtors Quality of Life Legacy.
The idea is to put $130,000 of association money in trust, with $30,000 to be released annually to worthy charitable organizations and agencies.
Organizations from six regions in the province could apply for a $5,000 grant in 2012, with one grant handed out to an organization in each region. It was set up as a way for realtors throughout the province to be able to give back to the communities in which they serve.
According to Al White of Re/Max, 26 organizations applied for those grants. Battlefords Boys and Girls Club was one of the six successful applications, getting the $5,000 grant for the northwest region.
The organization formally accepted the grant at an April 9 gala banquet at the Hotel Saskatchewan in Regina, where executive director Sheri Woolridge accepted the $5,000 cheque from Al White.
White says the Boys and Girls Club was a worthy recipient of the grant for their efforts towards improving the quality of life of kids in the area.
"It's such an amazing agency in our community," said White. "If it wasn't here there would be hundreds of kids who'd never experience their quality of life."
He spoke of the resources the organization provides, including teaching kids how to cook, how to use computers and other skills. White said he is pleased to see a local organization receive those funds set aside for the region.
As for the funding, there are no strings attached to the $5,000 so the Boys and Girls Club can spend it as it sees fit.
White is excited about the Quality of Life legacy fund and hopes it will be around "in perpetuity."
"We're hoping realtors will become 'legacy builders,'" White said, which means a contribution of $1,000 annually to the legacy fund so the fund can grow and continue to provide grants to worthy organizations.
The hope is for the fund to become self-sustaining.
