Ability Bowl fundraiser kicks off with pool tournament
The annual Ability Bowl fundraiser in Swift Current officially kicked off on Jan. 16 with a pool tournament and a steak supper.
The SaskAbilities Swift Current branch hosted the event in partnership with Burns & McDonnell, the presenting sponsor for the 2019 Ability Bowl.
“It was an awesome night,” SaskAbilities Community Relations Coordinator Michelle Poirier said. “We had so many people turn out from so many different businesses and organizations.”
Each Ability Bowl has a theme to add to the fun and excitement of the event and this year's event is called RodeoBowl. Many of the participants at the kickoff were wearing cowboy hats and shirts to reflect the rodeo theme.
Burns & McDonnell, a construction and engineering company, is managing the construction and procurement process for SaskPower's new Chinook Power Station near Swift Current.
The 32 participants in the pool tournament included staff from Burns & McDonnell as well as subcontractors doing work at the power station construction site and City of Swift Current staff.
Dewey Cook, the site project manager for Burns & McDonnell at the power station, presented a cheque of $5,000 to SaskAbilities after the pool tournament.
“It's our way of giving back to the community,” he told the Prairie Post. “We live here, we work here, so we think it's part of our community.”
He noted that the company, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, has been in business since 1898.
“The leadership of our company is all about giving back to community,” he said.
“We do what we can on the projects. ... It's all part of our culture. We're all about giving back and living in our community. For two year's we've been here. So our kids go to school here, we eat here, we sleep here, all that stuff, and so it's just about what can we do to make our community better and one way to do it is to help charities like SaskAbilities.”
The company has provided support to various other charities in the community since the work on the power station started.
This is the second time that Burns & McDonnell is supporting SaskAbilities in Swift Current. It held a fundraiser last year that raised about $1,500 for Ability Bowl.
“They're a good, worthy cause,” he said about SaskAbilities. “I toured their facility here the other day and I was really impressed with what they do and anytime you get something that work that good you want to help support that.”
Burns & McDonnell currently has about 35 people on site and in total there are still about 400 workers involved with construction activities.
The pool tournament was a good way for those who have been involved with the project to come together and have a relaxing time.
“These guys here tonight have been with us for a while,” he said.
“So it's easy to get off site and say you know what, we work well on site, let's get together and have a good time off site. So they're all about helping out and coming down and participate, and they like to give to worthy causes too.”
The kickoff event was the start of efforts to raise awareness in the community about the Ability Bowl and people can start thinking about getting their teams together.
“After tonight we will be getting participant packages out soon,” Poirier said.
“So if anyone is looking to participate, they can contact us at SaskAbilities or you can now register online at www.abilitybowl.ca. You can register your team and share it on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and that's how you can get your donations.”
This year's Ability Bowl takes place on April 27 at Frontier Bowling Lanes and teams can dress up to fit in with the rodeo theme.
“It is a Saturday, so we will have a great day of bowling,” she said. “We normally have anywhere between 35 and 40 teams come out and have a great time with friends, family, and co-workers. We invite everyone to come out and enjoy the day.”
It will be the 32nd annual Ability Bowl in Swift Current and this year's fundraising goal has been set at $100,000.
“Last year we raised $85,000,” she mentioned. “So we upped the game this year and hope that we can get more excited about this great event that happens every year. Rodeo is just a great theme for southwest Saskatchewan. So I think it will bring a lot more people in to participate.”
All the proceeds from Ability Bowl will be used to fund programs and services offered by the Swift Current branch of SaskAbilities.
“That could be anything from Summer Fun, which is a program for youth aged six to 22 here in Swift Current and Camp Easter Seal, which is near Watrous,” Poirier said. “That is a free camp for all ages to go and enjoy a week at camp.”
SaskAbilities has started selling 50/50 tickets for Ability Bowl. Tickets are $5 each and only 5,000 tickets are available.
For more information about Ability Bowl, call the SaskAbilities Swift Current branch new toll free number at 1-833-526-5299 or send an e-mail to abilitybowl@saskabilities.ca or go to the website www.abilitybowl.ca and register your team there.