MOOSE JAW — The Rotary Club of Moose Jaw Wakamow’s second annual flag fundraiser is flying once again, as the community group is encouraging residents to display their patriotism by waving the national banner.
“A flag in your front yard is a great way to show your pride in being a Canadian. This year, especially, we all want to show off our beautiful country to our neighbours and to the world,” said Marian Kettlewell, who, along with her husband David, is a co-ordinator of the Fly the Flag with Rotary Fundraiser.
Residents and businesses can participate in the fundraiser with a one-time subscription fee of $60. A Rotary volunteer will take a three-foot by five-foot Canadian flag on a 10-foot pole and plant it in the front yard of homes and businesses for several days before and after the long weekends of Victoria Day, Canada Day and Labour Day.
Subscribers can participate by going to the website RotaryClubofMooseJawWakamow.org and clicking on the flag image, where they enter their information and pay by credit card. If anyone wishes to purchase a flag subscription as a gift or for a second location, they can complete the subscription form again with the additional name and location.
Subscribers do not need to be home when the flags are installed or removed. The Rotary volunteers place the hollow metal pole on a stake in the ground about two feet from the front edge of the yard. When they register, subscribers should let the club know if they have underground sprinklers.
Due to the success of last year’s fundraiser, the resort villages of North Grove, South Lake, Sun Valley, the Hamlet of Parkview and Palliser Regional Park are invited to participate this year, in addition to Moose Jaw, Kettlewell said.
Meanwhile, the money raised will support organizations in Moose Jaw and internationally, as recent donations have gone to the Moose Jaw Health Foundation, the food bank, Phoenix Academy and Hunger in Moose Jaw, she continued.
To promote literacy, the club donates two post-secondary scholarships to students and gives to the Festival of Words. The club also donates to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, where children receive a free book each month from birth until age five.
Internationally, the club provides funds to Guatemalan Rotary clubs to manage the construction of classrooms, kitchens and washrooms in schools in disadvantaged rural communities. Also, the club contributes to scholarships in Guatemala to enable students to attend school past Grade 6.
“The club appreciates the generous assistance for the flag fundraiser from the Williams family at Cypress Paving, from the folks at Eecol Electric, and from Routific, the Canadian developers of the route optimization software that is used,” said Kettlewell.
Other fundraisers the Rotary Club of Moose Jaw Wakamow has planned this year include a Shred Day in May and pancake breakfasts in the summer, she added.
Crown Shred & Recycling from Regina is coming to Moose Jaw on Saturday, May 10, to receive people’s sensitive documents and papers and shred them securely. The pancake breakfasts will take place on Saturday mornings in July and August at the Kiwanis River Park Pavilion in Wakamow Valley.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct a name and add a participating community.
