HUMBOLDT — The City of Humboldt received more than $800,000 from the HumboldtStrong Community Foundation to be used for the city’s residents and those affected by the bus crash.
Coun. Lorne Pratchler said the city appreciated not just the money from the foundation, but the thoughts and prayers given by people all over the world.
“It has allowed us to move forward,” he said. “Every step of the way over the past year, there’s been moments of closure – some small closures, some big closures – but we’ve come to a point now where we can see a little more clearly and the timing of the funds we received today will really allow us to use them properly in our community.”
The councillor said city council will decide how the money will be spent.
“We need some time to think about that,” he said. “We have some ideas, some thoughts and we’re all going to bring that together and find out what’s best for the community.”
The foundation is asking the donation be put to use in a way that not only honours all those lost and injured, but also the overwhelming response from the public. Beyond that, it hasn’t see any defined targets.
Humboldt wasn’t the only community to receive money from the foundation. Tisdale, Melfort and Nipawin received $100,000 and Zenon Park received $50,000.
Kent Flavel, a director with the foundation, said it took a great deal of planning to decide how it distribute the dollars it has collected.
“There was no magic formula or anything like that,” he said. “We were just trying to give back to the communities that were there for our people when the event happened.”
