Over $1.5 million.
That's the milestone the Humboldt Good Neighbour Store reached this year, after handing out cheques for over $225,000 on December 3.
The Good Neighbour Store takes in donated goods from the community, sells them, and then donates the profits back to community organizations.
"I'm proud and honoured to tell you that we have a lot of money to give away today," said Maureen Doetzel, president of the Humboldt Good Neighbour Store, at the disbursement ceremony at the Bella Vista Inn. "Yes, it's more than last year and we're going to give it to 40 different organizations, which is also more than last year."
In 2011, the Good Neighbour Store handed out $205,000 to 31 local organizations.
"To date, including today's total, we have donated over $1.5 million back to worthy organizations in the region," said Doetzel.
It's been a busy year for the Good Neighbour Store in 2012. They spruced up the outside of their building, and did some much-needed repairs to the west and south sides.
"Now we can't see the sky from inside," Doetzel jokes. "We also had the entire building painted and it took a lot of paint. And we opted to have new signage put up and what a difference it has made. Someone said to me 'it finally looks like a store,' which I think says it all.
The Good Neighbour Store turned 20 in 2012. Doetzel reminded the crowd.
"The store continues to amaze me," she said. "Just from the sheer volume of products that come in the back doors and is sold through the front."
Doetzel thanked all those who donate goods to the store, those who purchase items from the store, and "most importantly, the volunteers who work tirelessly to get everything ready for resale by cleaning and stocking the shelves, hanging clothes, putting out books, dishes and everything else we sell, plus taking the money and packing the goods, sending it on to its next home."
Without all these people, the store would not operate, she said, "and we wouldn't be here today giving the monies back to the communities."
The store continues to face challenges, she noted, which keeps them all on their toes, but they also have a lot of fun.
"Volunteers are a very special breed of people," she said. "They work many hours for nothing more than a 'thank you' or 'good job' and we often take them for granted, as we get used to seeing them there week after week."
Volunteers have been coming to work at the Good Neighbour Store from all over the region. In the past year, people from Watson, Cudworth, Bruno, Muenster and Humboldt have worked at the store, to name a few places, Doetzel noted.
Of the 40 organizations receiving cheques from the Good Neighbour Store, only a handful weren't present to accept them, most due to the winter storm that hit the region hard on Sunday and Monday.
Those unable to make it included the Bruno Library, Humboldt Special Olympics, Humboldt Co-operative Day Care, Aspen Manor in Middle Lake, Lake Lenore Lionesses, Englefeld School Community Council, Friends of the Three Lakes Fire Department, Harmonic Vision in Muenster and St. Benedict Library.
The rest of the organizations there to receive their cheques revealed how the money was to be spent.
The Humboldt and District Hospital Foundation (HDHF) will put their funds towards the purchase of an infant warming bed at the hospital, and the St. Mary's Villa Foundation plans to use theirs to purchases much-needed equipment for their residents, like track lifts, commodes and more items for their Snoezelen Room.
Birch Manor in Middle Lake will use their funding to install automatic doors to their facility, to make it easier for the residents to get in and out.
LeRoy Assisted Living will put their funding towards repairs to their boiler system, and the Reid Thompson Public Library will use theirs to improve their collection for the visually impaired, and to upgrade other equipment.
The Muenster Library plans to use their money to supply craft materials for their summer reading and story hour programs, and for computer upgrades and shelving for the library, and the Humboldt Habitat for Humanity project funding "will go towards anything in the house we don't have yet,"said Bob Bellamy of Habitat for Humanity.
The Humboldt Kinettes will put their funding towards the Christmas Cheer program, which puts together food hampers and gifts for people in the community in need at Christmas time.
The Humboldt Senior Citizens Club (HSCC) will use their donation to enlarge the kitchen at the Seniors Hall, and the Muenster Seniors plan to use theirs to fix the basement of their hall, which flooded this spring.
The Humboldt Food Bank (HFB) will be putting their funding towards the purchase of food stuffs for the local families that use their services. The food bank is averaging 75 families served every month, and an increase in children being served and new users.
The Humboldt Guardian Angels (HGA) received funding to help them knit blankets, wraps and shawls for local hospitals, seniors and children's homes, and the monies received by Humboldt and District Community Services (HDCS) will go towards funding their summer program for children and youth with special needs.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Humboldt (BBBSH)will use their donation to expand their In-School Teen Mentoring program to other schools in the area.
The Watson Regional Day Care Centre (WRDCC) a new initiative announced this year which will see a new 20-spot daycare built, attached to Watson School, will use their funds to purchase appliances, furnishings, toys and finish their outdoor play space, as their capital grant of $500,000 will cover just the construction of the centre.
Partners Family Services will use their funding to help their programming, which includes intervention and prevention services for interpersonal violence and abuse, their summer program for children, and the local soup kitchen.
The Humboldt Public School (HPS) Snack Program received funding to help them ensure every child gets a nutritious snack every morning, and the school's band got a donation to help them purchase new instruments.
The monies from the Good Neighbour Store to the Humboldt Music Festival will be used for a scholarship for young musicians, and Safe Communities Humboldt and Area will use their funds for a falls prevention program for seniors, focusing on drug interactions.
The Humboldt Regional Newcomer Centre (HRNC) will use their funding from the Store for a program to help guide newcomers through the process of becoming a Canadian citizen, and to take a number of newcomers on a tour of the Legislature in Regina.
Three Lakes First Responders will use their grant to purchase a Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) for the village of Pilger, and to purchase new kit bags for new members.
The Watson and District Heritage Museum (WDHM)will use their funding to rebuild the front steps of their building, and put in a new high-efficiency furnace. The Humboldt and District Museum and Gallery (HDMG), meanwhile, will use the money donated to them for the renovation of the 1920 Merchants Bank of Canada Building.
The Humboldt and Area Vintage and Antique Club (HAVAC) will use their donation to do some renovations at their site.
"Everything is vintage, so everything needs to be looked after every once in a while," said Ursula Klassen, who picked up the cheque for the organization.
The Carlton Trail Ski Club (CTSC) plans to use their funding to help maintain their trails, programs and clubhouse, and the Humboldt Water Tower committee (HWTC) will put theirs towards completing the staircase inside the tower. They hope the stairs to the top of the tour will be done by next spring, giving the public access to the top of the tower and the amazing view from there.
The Humboldt Trails Committee will use their monies to fund the first of five priority trails identified in the city which will stretch along the south side of 5th Ave. from the post office to the Uniplex.
The Watson Care-A-Van's funding will be used to provide their services, which includes helping the seniors and disabled get around the community and to medical appointments in Humboldt.
