With the recent announcement of the East Side Community Association’s intent to dissolve, some of the other community associations in the city are feeling concerned for the future.
Crystal Froese, president of the South Hill Community Association, and Scott Osmachenko, recreation services manager with the city, chaired an informational session at the Public Library as a way to interest people in the many activities run by each of the four community associations.
The goal was to let people know what each community association is up to in their area, and to open the floor to any interest in volunteering — especially for the East Side Community Association, to keep it going.
The list of projects these associations are involved in is impressive: from heritage projects, to beautification and community cleanups, to running events and programs in schools, to building splash parks all over the city.
Although the responsibility of recreation programs was taken over by the City of Moose Jaw in 2007, there is still a strong partnership between the Recreation department and the four community associations.
The doors are always open for new ideas and new volunteers, as the four community associations run solely on community involvement. So many of the large projects in the city are the result of hard work from volunteers.
The South Hill Community Association’s big event each year is the South of the Bridge Day, but they also do numerous community cleanups, and heritage projects as well.
Sunningdale Community Association works closely with Sunningdale Elementary School, and are currently in the middle of creating an outdoor classroom.
The North West Community Association is involved with the many schools and parks around that end of the city.
The East Side Community Association played a large role in the construction of the East End Spray Park, as well as the new basketball court at Bell Park that is prompted similar project interest.
Now, after 30 years of operations, the East Side Community Association finds itself in dire need of both leadership and volunteer support.
Currently, the hope is that someone will be willing to step up and take over the floundering group; their non-profit status is secured until September of this year, so if someone agrees to take over before then, there would be minimal paperwork necessary.
Osmachenko encourages community members to reach out to their local community association and get involved.
“There's nothing more rewarding than volunteering for your community association and seeing the results in your neighborhood,” said Osmachenko. “It's not a big commitment, so if you have any ideas, just talk to us.”
For those who are unsure where to go, they can contact the Recreation department by email at recreation@moosejaw.ca or phone at (306) 694-4447. Staff will direct them to the right person within each community association.
Those interested in helping revive the East Side Community Association are also encouraged to contact the parks department, both for volunteer and leadership roles.
