Rotary gives $100k donation toward Flin Flon pool project

The effort to build a new pool complex in Flin Flon just got a six-figure donation from one of the community’s most active charity groups.

The Flin Flon Rotary Club officially presented a donation of $100,000 to the City of Flin Flon during their March 28 meeting, covering a good chunk of the community contribution needed to make the pool project a reality. Funds for the donation have come from the club’s efforts at several local events - from Operation Red Nose, from Rotary’s work at the Blueberry Jam Music Gathering, from the Rotary Dream Draw, lobster night fundraisers and more.

“This donation is only possible because of the hard work and dedication of both present and past members of the Rotary Club and the events run by the club. These events include Operation Red Nose, the Rotary Dream Draw, lobster night, Blueberry Jam and many more,” said club co-president Cheryl Hilts. Hilts and other Rotary members presented committee members and City of Flin Flon senior staff with a novelty cheque for the event.

“We also would like to express our appreciation to all of the people and the businesses of Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach, Cranberry Portage and surrounding areas for their generous support of these events. We hope that this donation inspires others within the community and other businesses to also get involved, to help support their fundraising efforts.”

The donation came from months of volunteer work by club members, saving money to provide to the committee to advance the project.

“This isn’t just from one year - we’ve been accumulating and growing this fund so we could do this presentation for many years. Our sincerest thanks goes out to the community and all the businesses that have been huge supporters for our events,” said Hilts.

“We're grateful for everybody and the hours that were put in to raise that money. It's going to go a long way for our pool project,” said Aqua Centre committee vice-president Kara Plamondon.

“It’s wonderful. It's really exciting to see the support from the Rotary Club and all of the community members that make up that club,” added City of Flin Flon recreation director Caitlin Bailey.

As was the case with major projects like the emergency department at Flin Flon General Hospital, a portion of the pool project’s costs need to be covered by what the provincial government calls “community contributions” - donations from people, organizations or businesses to help cover the cost. The overall portion of the cost needing to be covered was around $2 million when work began - the exact number it now sits at is unknown. Organizers say the Rotary donation got the City past a quarter of the way there, but other donations will still be needed to keep the project moving.

“We’re hoping this will kick off donations, both corporate and community-based. We’re really grateful they were able to get that first big public donation out there for this project,” said Bailey.

People behind the volunteer effort hope this donation will help kick off a blitz of donations, just in time for the start of construction season. Work on the pool site, located on the former Flin Flon Aqua Centre site just off Ash Crescent near Ross Creek, is expected to begin this month and continue until next fall, with a possible 2025 opening date not yet ruled out.

“I hope it kicks off a real fundraising rush to happen in the next few weeks. There's going to be lots happening at the site in April and we're really hoping that people jump on board with other donations, from businesses or personal donations or corporate sponsorship as well,” said Plamondon.

Other efforts to finance the contribution are still in the works, including new events and a 50/50 draw. The draw won’t likely cover the rest of the needed money - neither will a possible escape room event later this year - but for the project, every little bit of money helps.

“We're still working on fundraising projects. There's lots on the go for the events side of things and there's lots on the go for the corporate sponsorship side of things. We have people busy planning events,” said Plamondon.

No big changes have been made recently to the project, said Bailey, while plans are getting closer to finalized leading up to construction season.

“I don’t think there’s been any significant changes to the project. We've finalized almost everything - as finalized as those drawings can be, they are right now. We're hoping to see the construction crew up here within the next couple of weeks and we're going to get started,” she said.