In July, the KGCA received a $2,000 grant from ActivateYYC, a community-focused program that supports initiatives to transform spaces into vibrant community places. The grant was a welcome opportunity for us to enhance our greenspace by providing more seating and gathering areas.
Our greenspace, featuring a large field and playground, has always been a hub for community activities, but lacked adequate seating. Thanks to the support of ActivateYYC, we were able to address this need by acquiring two picnic tables and six Adirondack chairs. These new additions have already begun to foster a more inviting environment for our community!
Additionally, recognizing the value of enhancing other local parks, we used part of the grant to purchase chairs for the playground at the Killarney Aquatic Centre and the playground at the Off-Leash Dog Park. This extension of our project allowed us to positively impact more areas within Killarney-Glengarry.
We purchased the picnic tables from Tim Hazlett, a carpenter based in Langdon, and secured the chairs from two local RONA stores in Signal Hill and MacLeod. We are grateful to the store managers who generously offered a 50% discount, enabling us to stretch our grant funds further! With the leftover funds we purchased a few plants from Plant in Inglewood to bring more life to our Community Hall. Huge thank you to our volunteers from the board that dedicated their time to stain and assemble the chairs, demonstrating the community spirit that drives our initiatives!
Since the installation of the new seating options earlier this month, our community has embraced these enhancements wholeheartedly. Families are enjoying picnics, friends are gathering, and connections are being made over shared moments. We are proud to have played a role in creating this space for our community to come together, and we extend our heartfelt thanks to ActivateYYC, the City of Calgary, and the Federation of Calgary Communities for making it possible.
Special thanks also to the general manager of RONA in Signal Hill for their support and to RONA on MacLeod for matching the discount. Lastly, we express our gratitude to the dedicated volunteers at KGCA who spearheaded the grant application, managed the purchases, and put in the hard work to prepare the chairs for use.
Looking ahead, as the KGCA continues to evolve, we are excited about the prospect of pursuing more initiatives that enrich our community spaces and bring people together!
