RR KidSport holds an entertaining fundraiser

By Ken Johnston
Editor

Even though the turnout was small, the message and the entertainment were excellent at the first ever Rainy River KidSport Variety Show and dinner Sunday evening.
Just under 60 attended the dinner at the RR Community (Recreation) Centre. RR KidSport Chair Rebecca Tolen said, “It would have been nice if we had a bigger turn out but I don’t think we lost money.”
Tolen did use the opportunity to tell those present what the first official chapter of KidSport in Northwestern Ontario did this past year.
KidSport is an organization designed to help as many kids as possible be active in physical activities through financial assistance. While many kids want to participate in physical activities often the cost of transportation, distance and other economic barriers prevent some from doing just that.
Rainy River KidSport helped 32 children since its inception in February 2008. They have helped them participate in swimming, track and field, hockey, soccer, dance, basketball, volleyball and figure skating.
While they do some local fund raising, it is fairly minimal. Most of the organizations funding comes from larger corporate sponsors like Nike and the Wayne Gretzky Foundation.
Tolen expressed her gratitude to all who attended the variety show and to all the board members and contributors to the local chapter. “All locally raised monies stays local. Our chapter encompasses the area up to Morson, to Stratton and back to Rainy River.”
All donations to the chapter are tax deductible and can be made by contacting Meghan Shanks at the Rainy River Recreation Centre (852-4446).
Tolen also noted that the chapter is looking for some volunteers to sit on the board. At present she has Veldron Vogan, Gabe Langlais, Heather Anderson, Meghan Shanks, Janice Olson and Dianne McCormack on the board.
Meghan Shanks served as Master of Ceremonies for the variety show which featured singers Ericka Tymkin and Vaughn Murray, dancers from the Lake of the Woods Just For Kix program, Shanks doing a skit and Alexis Sharp and Stephanie Schiro on the piano.