The Newsy Neighbour Magazine
June Issue 104
All Rights Reserved
www.thenewsyneighbour.com
Hello Newsy Neighbour readers! As I write this, it looks like some residents of Fort McMurray will be able to return home soon. Here’s hoping Mother Nature cooperates and sends some more much needed rain. It is in times like this, when our neighbours to the north need our help, that Albertans step up and show their true spirit of generosity. On very short notice a team of dedicated volunteers and donors made last Friday the 13th a lucky day at our Alberta Strong fundraiser in Chestermere. My husband Malkeet, my sister Parveen, Jed Snatic of Chestermere, Alex Halat from Langdon, and Patrick Watson and the Knights of Columbus assisted by my office staff worked night and day for a week to get it organized and dozens of volunteers (including the Newsy Neighbour’s own Aleesha and Denise!) made it a smooth running success. Donations of supplies, silent auction prizes, and raffle items poured into the Constituency Office from Chestermere, Langdon, Springbank, Bearspaw, the rest of the constituency, Strathmore, Calgary, and beyond. On the big day over 1200 people came together to show their support, enjoying over 2000 meals, entertainment, bouncy castles, and some spirited bidding at the silent auction. Our two Fort McMurray MLAs, Brian Jean and Tany Yao, shared their stories of the destruction they saw, the courage of our firefighters and emergency services, and the indomitable spirit of all Albertans, those who were forced from and in some cases lost their homes and those who came through and selflessly helped out. Make no mistake, recovery will be a long process, but as Brian Jean said: “This is my home. We will rebuild it, better than ever.” By day’s end we raised on the order of $25,000 which will be matched by the Alberta and Federal governments. We don’t have a final tally as yet, as people are still coming in to pay for their winning bids and even donate additional money. I have never been prouder to serve as the elected representative of such kind and generous people, many of them donating in spite of facing severe economic hardship themselves.
We have also been collecting supplies at the office for
evacuees. The first truckload went out May 25 driven by my husband and destined
for Lac La Biche. Again, the generosity of my constituents does not surprise
but continues to amaze me. Other Canadians have pitched in. From Ottawa staff
at the Canada Border Services Agency, along with Santas Anonymous, C&C
Enterprises (donated tractor), GAL Power (donated trailer) coordinated with my
husband and sent a semi load of needed supplies to Lac La Biche. Lac La Biche
has quadrupled in size! We also need to give a special shout out to our energy
companies who made their camps, planes, and equipment available to evacuees and
those fighting hard to save Fort McMurray and surrounding communities. Our
corporate citizens have always been noted for their philanthropy and they have
surpassed themselves this time.
Perhaps you
know somebody from Fort McMurray who will be graduating from High School as a
guest at our local high schools. If so, we have some beautiful Grad dresses
donated by constituents. Please call the office.
Disasters
like the Fort McMurray fires have a way of putting things in perspective. We
have so much to be thankful for in this province and country. In the end,
though, stuff is just stuff. It can be replaced. The true treasures we have are
our families, friends, neighbours, and complete strangers who think nothing of
dropping everything and helping out. My heartfelt thanks to Albertans and Canadians
for their unstinting support of our friends from Fort Mac.
As always, we
love to hear from you.
Leela Sharon
Aheer, MLA
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