Representatives of the Kindersley and District Health and Wellness Foundation (KDHWF), Kindersley Antique Threshing Club and Heritage Manor gather for a photo in the Manor’s sun room where funds from two different sources helped to revitalize with new furniture. (Back row left to right) Garth Weinhandl of the threshing club, Crystal Perkins of Heritage Manor and Richard Jones of the threshing club. (Sitting) Colleen Sawchuk and Vivian Kalmer of the health foundation.
Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion
The residents of Heritage Manor have a new space to enjoy thanks to a contribution by the local health foundation made possible by its special donors.
The Kindersley and District Health and Wellness Foundation (KDHWF) has purchased new furniture for the sun room at Heritage Manor using funds that came from last year’s harvest by the Kindersley Antique Threshing Club. The club contributed approximately $13,000 to upgrade the sun room.
New furnishings in the sun room include a sofa, new chairs and a wooden table and chairs for the residents to use. The threshing club donated proceeds after one of its recent harvests and the money has been put to good use.
Vivian Kalmer, administrator for the KDHWF, said an additional $5,000 was contributed by Elsie Neil and family, so a total of $18,000 was committed to upgrade the sun room between the two contributions. The foundation serves as a vessel for donations.
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“It is absolutely wonderful,” she said of the support, recognizing that it is great to be involved with the foundation because of all the wonderful things it does to help the patients, residents and staff at the Kindersley & District Health Centre. “We get no funding from government. It’s all private funding.”
She noted that the sun room upgrade has been on the foundation’s radar for a while, so it is nice to get it done. The KDHWF negotiated with health officials for as much as a year prior to being able to proceed with the upgrade.
Kalmer said the sun room was being used for storage before the initiative, so it was not being used as it was intended. The residents now have another quiet area to enjoy to rest, put together puzzles, look out to the centre courtyard or do anything that works in the space.
One resident was knitting in the sun room as contributors from the foundation, threshing club and Heritage Manor gathered for a photo. Kalmer said she is happy with how the space came together, and wants to thank the donors.
The Rural Municipality of Kindersley has done a lot of work to clean up the centre courtyard, Kalmer said she would like to give credit to the RM of Kindersley for its work and to Pat Perkins for working on plants in the courtyard. The foundation hopes to help with a project to improve accessibility for residents to use the courtyard, she said.
Greg Becker, a member of the threshing club, said the foundation chose to use the club’s contribution for the sun room and the group “did a very nice job.” He said there was furniture there before, but it was old and worn out.
He noted that the sun room will get the most use in the winter months, and it will be a nice space for residents. A group of people came together to form a club and the club has grown over time, he said. The land and crop are donated by Ashley Taupaff and Tina Coutts, so the club seeds and harvests the crop, Becker said.
The land and crop are donated, but the club’s members do the work and they are all volunteers, he said. The club’s members have fun using antique and vintage farm equipment to harvest the crops and they are happy to help.
“It’s a pleasure and what we like, it’s something that needs to be done in the community,” he said, recognizing that everybody benefits from health care upgrades in one way or another and it makes sense for the club to be involved with the foundation. “We’re very happy to be part of it.”
Becker said the club also enjoys having other people attend its demonstrations. The club’s harvest demonstration takes place at the Kindersley & District Plains Museum in the fall and the Western Development Museum is lending the club a steam engine, he explained.
Crystal Perkins, the support services co-ordinator at Heritage Manor, said the sun room space looked sparse before with very little furniture in it, so it is great that the foundation stepped up to provide the wonderful new furnishings.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have such a wonderfully organized group with the health foundation,” she said, recognizing that the KDHWF does a great job to give resources and organize initiatives to support the health facility and its residents.
She noted that the residents really enjoy the sun room space, so it is nice to have the new furniture. Perkins said the staff wants the residents to feel at home, so it is nice to see residents making use of the revamped space. Health officials are thankful for the efforts of the foundation and its partners, she added.
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