On March 24, 2021 the Elliot Lake Rotary will conduct its third 100 Elliot Ĺakers Who Care! fundraiser under the leadership of Rotarian Bill Goulding.
In 2019, the project provided successful funding for Paul Eldon's Kiwanis Park basketball court improvements.
At that time the donor group indicated it was in favour of turning the program into a regular event.
"The Rotary Club of Elliot Lake has decided to spearhead another 100 Elliot Lakers Who Care! project - in a virtual format this year," Goulding said.
"The idea is to provide local groups and stakeholders with the ability to raise significant money to fund a community project, while simultaneously offering individuals a fun and meaningful way to leverage a small donation to affect big change in Elliot Lake," he added.
To get involved, donors need to send a $100 Interac Email Money Transfer (EMT) to [email protected], and follow up with a message to the same email address with their name and contact info.
They can also visit the online checkout and buy their vote here.
There will be a virtual voting event held via Zoom on March 24, 2021 at 6:30 p.m., where donors will vote for their favourite project. They can also send an email to make alternate arrangements.
At the live virtual voting event, the 100 donors will listen to pitches from proponents of community projects and then vote to select the winner.
The winning project will be funded the night of March 24 with a $10,000 cheque to back the initiative.
Last year, Paul Eldon's retrofit of the Kiwanis Park Basketball Courts was successfully funded at the event held in December of 2019.
"Understandably, the implementation of the project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic," Goulding said. "Donor funds are currently being held by The Rotary Club of Elliot Lake until the project can get underway.
"The City of Elliot Lake has committed to any further in-kind and monetary support required to realize the project," he added. "Paul has been co-coordinating between the Public Works Department and the court surface vendor to move things along."
"We can all expect and look forward to seeing the transformation of the basketball courts occur in the spring/summer of 2021.
At the same time, Elliot Lake Rotary has issued a call for projects for this year.
They are looking to local community groups and stakeholders to submit applications to the club for funding by the "100 Elliot Lakers Who Care!' project for next spring's event.
For directions on how to submit your application, contact organizers here. The initial project applications are due Feb. 19, 2021.
The Rotary Club vision for successful candidate submissions includes lasting, visible, impactful projects that will be realized on a reasonably short timeline, that have solid implementation plans, and that seek to improve the community as a whole. The funding from this project is not intended for ongoing/operational activities.
Sucessfully funded projects to date include the Terrain Park at Mt. Dufour and the Kiwanis Park Basketball Court Refresh.
For more information, click here.