East Sounding Creek 4-H Beef Club raises funds for charity
By Joan Janzen
The East Sounding Creek 4-H Beef Club is comprised of 42 members from Oyen, Esther, Sibbald, Bindloss, Cereal and Sedalia. The club is showing their support for two vital organizations serving southern Alberta. Those organizations are the Oyen & District Food Bank and the Helicopter Air Lift Operation (HALO) Air Ambulance.
Greg Norris, a 4-H leader, said, “The whole idea behind the charity steer fundraiser is we’re wanting to see how many people’s lives we can touch with one $1100 calf. And we’re teaching kids to give back to the community.” The calf, its care and feed, were all donated.
The Norris family of Sibbald have donated a steer and its care to the 4-H Club. Feed and supplements for the animal were donated by Trouw Nutrition in Medicine Hat. The steer, named Hot Shot, will be sold during the Hanna District 4-H Market Steer Sale held on June 11 at the Hanna Agri-Sports Complex. Proceeds from the auction will be donated to HALO and the beef will go to the Oyen Food Bank.
Paul Carolan, HALO CEO, said the nice thing about being based out of Medicine Hat is they’re not only closer to Oyen, but also have a direct route through the Suffield base to Oyen. Paul will be speaking at the Charity Steer Fundraiser, and expressing his appreciation. Rural communities are dependent on the life saving critical care and transport that HALO Air Ambulance provides to southern Alberta residents.
The Oyen & District Food Bank has been an integral part of the community for more than two decades. They provide food bank services as well as emergency hampers when needed. This local food bank helps out between 12 to 16 families every month and handed out 50 hampers during the Christmas season. Approximately ten volunteers donate their time and energy to this worthy project. Bins are placed in various locations where food can be donated and food drives are also held periodically. Of course, cash donations and donations of food by farmers, gardeners and businesses are also a big help in keeping the food bank well stocked.
The East Sounding Creek 4-H Beef Club is showing their support for these two organizations by raising funds through the sale of their charity steer.
In the May 31, 2022 edition of The Oyen Echo, we mistakenly reported that the East Sounding 4-H Beef Club was from Hanna. We sincerely apologize for the error.
