The 100 Elliot Lakers Who Care campaign hosted their pitch night last evening at the Masonic Heritage Hall on Spruce Street. ‘100’ is a project of the local Rotary Club.
This year is the first year back for the campaign following a hiatus because of the recent pandemic.
Rotary club president, Shawn Heard, emceed the event which has so far raised $8,300 for the selected winning project. Heard told the attendees that many of the donors, who each purchased a $100 ticket to sponsor and vote, signed on during the past two or three weeks.
Previous 100 Elliot Lakers Who Care campaigns have helped fund other community projects that continue to benefit Elliot Lake and Elliot Lakers, including the basketball court improvements at Kiwanis Park on Dieppe Avenue and terrain park equipment at Mt. Dufour Ski Hill.
A good crowd was on hand to hear four project presentations. Before the winning project was announced, attendees who spoke to ElliotLakeToday were unanimous in their opinion that they would be happy to see their $100 go to support any of the four projects presented.
The votes were counted and the results passed to the emcee on a slip of paper.
Emcee Heard held the paper and stretched the suspense out a little, teasing the voters. He told the eager group this year was the closest competition yet.
The winner was announced. Paul Eldon’s vision to purchase an electric-assisted trishaw to provide recreational outings for seniors living in the three care homes in Elliot Lake was chosen. The announcement was welcomed with smiles and applause.
The three other projects included Kate Wannan’s “The Empower U Class,” a proposal for tri-lingual signage and programming to bring youth and school-aged children closer in touch with the natural environment. Lynn Thomas proposed air conditioning equipment for the Masonic Hall, where we were meeting, to support their endeavour of sharing their facilities with other groups and events. Miranda MacLeod presented a vision of equipment designed to help young children become introduced to the recreational sport of skiing.
In his presentation, Eldon noted that previous year’s projects have benefited youth and he thought this year, perhaps a project of benefit to seniors was right to consider. He told the attendees he has volunteers from the Elliot Lake X-C Ski and Bike club ready to train as pilots.
‘Pilots’ are what the organization, Cycling Without Age, calls the tri-shaw driver. Eldon referred the interested group to the CyclingWithoutAgeCanada website.
Cycling Without Age Canada describes their mission as, “Using specialized electric pedal-assisted trishaws each bicycle can carry up to two passengers on an adventure previously unimagined. Envision harkening back to youthful memories of exploration and discovery thought forever lost. Local volunteers called ‘pilots’ visit care homes, senior centers and community groups to offer rides on the trishaw. Being outdoors, reconnecting in the community and with the ‘pilots’ nurtures emotional well-being. Rides make passengers smile, bring back their memories, and allow them to be part of society again and thereby renewing their appetite for life itself. It all starts with a bike ride!”
During his presentation, Eldon remarked good-naturedly, that it would be a pleasure to see seniors enjoying the experience of “the wind in their hair again.”