The Red Deer & District Community Foundation (RDDCF) named the recipients of over $48,000 in grants at a small ceremony on Tuesday morning.

A total of 11 charitable projects and programs were funded through the fall Smart & Caring Communities and Sylvan Lake Community Endowment Fund.

“We decided to make the announcement on Giving Tuesday this year as a way to celebrate and acknowledge the way charitable organizations give to our community,” Erin Peden, Interim Executive Director said.

“We also want to remind the public of how giving to the Red Deer & District Community Foundation makes a difference across a wide sector of charities within Central Alberta.”

This fall projects supporting everything from education, to arts and culture, to human services, to health and wellness were funded.

“The beautiful thing about the Smart & Caring Communities Grant is that there are no limitations to which sector you can apply for,” Peden said.

“If a charitable organization is looking for additional funding to provide a sustainable service, then that organization should contact us so we can walk them through the application process.”

There are two annual granting cycles for the communities’ grants with applications being accepted on the first weekday in April, and again on the first weekday of October.

RDDCF grants approximately $50,000 per cycle. This fall exactly $48,733.59 was distributed.

This year’s recipients are as follows:

Smart & Caring Communities Grant

  • Aspire Special Needs Resource Centre - Fee Assistance for Families - $2,500
  • Careers: The Next Generation Foundation - Career Expo - $3,500
  • CNIB Foundation AB & NWT Division - Expansion of Community Engagement into Red Deer - $10,000
  • Habitat for Humanity, Red Deer Region - Equipment Upgrade - $8,000
  • Olds & District Hospice Society - Bereavement/Day Hospice Programs & Support - $5,000
  • RD Festival of Performing Arts Society - Annual Festival - $2,500
  • Red Deer Action Group Society - Subsidy Ride Program - $8,000
  • Shalom Counselling Centre - Counselling Services - $4,000
  • Sundre Municipal Library - Language & Literacy Development - $2,200

Sylvan Lake Community Endowment Fund:

  • Olds & District Hospice Society - Palliative & Hospice Educational Video Package - $1,500
  • Bethany Care Society - Great Room Expansion - $1,533

Ali Khalil is the Program Lead of Innovation and Technology for CNIB, as well as a former client. Khalil lost 80 percent of his vision in the span of just over a week when he was seven years old. He said that the services provided by CNIB helped him to adjust and learn the skills he needed to live a full life. 

"Their services gave me the skills I needed to remove the barrier of vision loss and make it part of my identity, not my whole identity. They helped me move forward and really prepared me for the world," Khalil said. 

He said these funds will be used to help in engagement programs, connecting clients to services and helping to bring out new, integrative programs that make long-term impacts for their clients' success. 

"We are honoured for this gift we've received from the Red Deer and District Community Foundation today. It's really going to help us get the word out, and promote our services, and how we can help a person who is blind or partially sighted."