At its May 10 meeting, Hawkesbury town council approved $25,000 in donations to six community organizations.
For 2021, the organizations had requested funding totaling $30,250. In 2020, seven organizations received a total of $26,304 from the town.
According to a report from Chief Administrative Officer Dominique Dussault, the requests for donations are submitted each year by organizations when the town is preparing its annual budget. Donations must be for community, sports, and cultural activities by organizations active within the Town of Hawkesbury.
In 2021, the Group Action pour l’enfant, la famille, et la communauté de Prescott et Russell is receiving $5,000 to conduct workshops on healthy food, for children up to age 12, and for developing health kits. In 2020, the Group action had received $4,000 from the town.
The Centre Culturel Le Chenail is receiving a donation of $1,750 from the Town of Hawkesbury in 2021. The donation will be used for art, music, and dance programming for children and youth, the annual Recyl’art exhibit, Fierté et Gloire—an exhibit of Hawkesbury’s history since 1830, and Journée Trad—a free festival of traditional music being held on September 3.
Centre Culturel Le Chenail had originally requested $5,500 from the town for 2021. In 2020, it had received $3,500.
The Town of Hawkesbury is contributing $8,000 to the Hawkesbury Auto Club in 2021. The club is planning to revive its Wednesday Downtown Cruise Night and Auto Expo on August 1. Both events were cancelled in 2020. The auto club had requested $10,000 from the town for 2021. In 2020, the club had received $6,000 from the town.
The Hawkesbury Central Food Bank is receiving a $3,250 donation from the town in 2021, which is the exact amount it requested in its application. It will be used to help provide low-income residents with free food, and for the preparation of annual Christmas baskets for those people. In 2020, the Town of Hawkesbury had donated $6,500 to the food bank.
The Old Mill Park Parent’s Committee is receiving $3,000 from the Town of Hawkesbury in 2021. The funds will be used for planned field trips to Papanack Zoo, Calypso Park, and a Christmas supper at the end of the year. The Old Mill Park Parent’s had requested $3,000 from the town this year. In 2020, the town contributed $2,500 to the organization.
For the second year, the Troupe de théâtre Le Cercle Gascon II is receiving $3,500 from the Town of Hawkesbury. The francophone theatre organization is not staging official productions in 2021 due to the pandemic, but it is instead focusing on training its members and acquiring a new scene for the safety of its members.
