MOOSE JAW — Christine Boyczuk left an indelible mark on Moose Jaw with her numerous volunteer activities, so now a dozen community groups with whom she served want to ensure residents remember her forever.
“Rooted in Service: Creating a recognition of Christine Boyczuk-Rensby” is the title of a dinner happening on Saturday, Sept. 20, at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church’s parish hall. The event is designed to raise funds for the installation near the library of a permanent memorial bench and a statue of a child reading to honour Boyczuk-Rensby.
Happy hour starts at 6 p.m., while dinner occurs at 7 p.m., and is being catered by Monty Bennett, who is providing an authentic Ukrainian meal. There will also be silent and live auctions — some items are coming from Boyczuk-Rensby’s family — and a 50/50.
Tickets are $30 each and are going quickly — there are a handful left out of 200 — and can be purchased by calling Wanda Peakman at the Early Years Family Resource Centre (EYFRC) at 306-630-6912. Tickets can be purchased by cash or cheque, with cheques made out to Wakamow Rotary.
Anyone who wants to attend but can’t purchase tickets, or doesn’t want to attend but wants to support the project, can submit a donation to the Family Resource Centre.
Glenn Hagel, the communications officer for the organizing committee, said 12 organizations came together for this project, which “reflects the massive involvement” Boyczuk-Rensby had in making Moose Jaw a great place to live and improving residents’ quality of life.
Those dozen groups — they are not the total number of organizations Boyczuk-Rensby supported — include Holy Trinity Catholic School Division, both Rotary clubs, the Optimist Club, the Catholic Women’s League, the Superannuated Teachers’ Association, Transition House, the EYFRC, the library, the Business Women of Moose Jaw, Square One Community Inc., and Age Friendly Moose Jaw.
The Wakamow Rotary Club may have developed the idea for a memorial bench and a statue — they “capture the essence of Christine’s phenomenal community involvement” — but other people jumped on board quickly and enthusiastically, said Hagel.
“The thing that struck me is that doing it this way, it really does exemplify Christine’s approach to the community with a broad-based involvement in many different aspects of the community,” he continued, noting the committee works well and is eager to recognize the “fabulous contribution that Christine” made.
The committee was formed in May and began working, and after taking a summer break, met in late August to formalize the plans.
Hagel highlighted Boyczuk-Rensby’s “unwavering commitment” to the community and her passion for making life better for everyone, whether those efforts were decades long or just months before she died in February. He noted that her dedication was based on love, especially for young children.
“When we talked about a memorial bench, we felt it was really valuable to add something special to it that would capture the essence of Christine’s huge heart of giving and volunteerism,” Hagel continued. “And that’s what led us to the conclusion (that) we want the statue to be a child reading a book.”
Hagel noted that Boyczuk-Rensby was always the first person to help and was “fabulously informed” about what was happening. Moreover, he felt that no other volunteer had ever made such a difference in Moose Jaw as Boyczuk-Rensby.
“One of the things I love about this is the community spirit that is going into the creation of the event (dinner) to make a memorable recognition of Christine,” he added.
Wanda Peakman, a co-ordinator at the EYFRC, said her organization is honoured and delighted to participate in co-organizing the dinner. She pointed out that Boyczuk-Rensby played “a huge part” in early years education, especially through the Moose Jaw Literacy Network.
Continuing, Peakman said Boyczuk-Rensby was “the bridge” that connected the 12 groups that are part of the organizing committee. Moreover, her influence ensured that some groups donated to the EYFRC via the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
“So she played a really unique role in the community, working with the early years (and) all the way to the age-friendly group and everything in between,” added Peakman.
