On Thursday, Sept. 5 the Wawota United Church held their annual Harvest Event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year, however, instead of being directed solely towards the church it was a part of a fundraiser for Raise the Rafters.
Raise the Rafters is a fundraising group made up of Shelley Corkish, Gary Dickson, Jerri Laird, Wendy Brehaut, Debbie Saville, Shelly Easton, Linda Birnie, Nina Johnson, and Chris Haussecker. In addition to the committee members, the group is joined by countless volunteers.
Though the group is made up of United Church members they have been fundraising for a new community centre.
The current community centre is located in the old United Church, which was built in the early 1950s. Once a new church was built in the 1980s, it was decided the old church could be used for community events such as Alcoholic Anonymous meetings, birthday parties, bridal showers, exercise groups, scrapbooking groups, and much more.
The current community centre building is in disrepair. Considering costs of upkeep and renovations a decision was made to simply fundraise for an addition to the new church.
"The old one is not wheelchair accessible either and it would have been expensive to make it so... it was just more difficult to do it that way [fixing the old building]," Corkish explained.
The addition to the current United Church will include a ministry office for the church, a secretarial office, a modern kitchen, and space available for community events.
The church does currently have a basement, but the stairs can be difficult for older individuals to use and the expansion will be wheelchair accessible
The group began fundraising in May with a footlong hotdog sale, followed by a food booth during Wawota Heritage Days. Also, held during the Heritage Days was a fun photo booth during the dance. Organizers say that this was quite a fun idea as those interested in having their photos taken could don a variety of different items including large glasses, wigs, and hats.
With summer now coming to a close, organizers have decided to host one fundraising event each month.
"We hope to hold one a month, is the plan," Dickson stated. "We're in the works of planning a Family Dance in September and a Black Tie Christmas Supper later this year."
The Christmas supper is intended to be a fun night for small businesses to take part in, bringing their workers for a night of good food and great entertainment. Though these are still in the planning stages, Raise the Roof is excited for the coming together of their plan.
