Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 has started a virtual “buy a brick” fundraiser as part of its efforts to secure a new and more modern home.
Residents can purchase a virtual brick and have their name engraved on it, the name of a loved one, or their business name. Individual bricks are $100, bronze donations are $500 and come with five bricks, silver donations are $1,000 and come with 10 bricks, and gold donations are $5,000 and receive special attention on the wall.
Donors can also purchase bonds for $25 or $100. These bonds have an interest rate of zero per cent, and at the end of five years, if a new building is not purchased, donors can cash out their bond or reinvest it back into the project.
While residents can make donations in these amounts, the legion would accept any donation level for this project.
The legion started its “buy a brick” fundraiser in January and has raised $17,144.
Visit www.royalcanadianlegionbranch59moosejaw.ca for more information.
Legion president Roy LaBuick explained that the organization needs a new location because it wants to move out of the basement of its current venue. It wants to be on a main floor to make it easier for veterans to visit and allow members and non-members to better access amenities.
“We just feel it’s time to move forward and (to) try to modernize the legion. And a new location would definitely help us out with that,” he said.
It will be difficult to leave the current building since it has stood as a place for veterans since 1926, so there are many memories wrapped up in it, LaBuick continued. However, it is time for the organization to move into the future, which means either purchasing and renovating a building or constructing a new venue.
There is no end date for this fundraiser, while it will continue until the legion raises enough money to find a new home. LaBuick believes that $750,000 to $1 million would be ideal since that’s likely what a new venue could cost.
“It will be a challenge (to raise that much), but we can get there,” he said.
Branch No. 59 has not officially decided to move and remains in its current home on High Street West, LaBuick noted. However, the executive decided within the past year that it needs a new place that allows the organization to offer more, enhanced, and new services.
The legion currently offers several activities such as shuffleboard, darts, cribbage, Friday suppers, Saturday meat draws and monthly trivia nights, he said. However, it would like to become more visible in the community and better promote that it is open to everyone.
The organization would like to see bands come back to perform on the weekends, while also offering veterans a place to come and feel like they’re at their second home.
“There’s so many things we have ideas that we’d like to do, but unfortunately, being down in the basement, it does limit us to a certain degree,” LaBuick said.
The organization wants to ensure a legion is here for another 100 years, considering veterans have played an important role since the First World War, while the municipality has been known as a military establishment for decades, he continued. A new, modern building would also ensure the legion can continue offering services to veterans and help them deal with Veterans Affairs Canada.
“If we are not here to help them, then they will have nowhere to go,” LaBuick added.
