WILKIE—In Saskatchewan, small rural communities are known for coming together. More than 330,000 volunteers called Saskatchewan home in 2024, with more than 171 million volunteer hours recorded in the province alone in 2018 by Statistics Canada. For the past four years, the community of Wilkie has benefited from the numerous hours of help from one group, the Wilkie Community Club (WCC).
The WCC was first created in 2021 with 11 members. Branden Kotzer, spokesperson for the WCC, said in an interview with SaskToday that the group was created during the pandemic.
“We were part of the Kinsmen, but once Covid started shutting everything down, we decided to part ways and go with our own group. Members are men who live in the Wilkie district, as young as 19 and going into their 40s,” said Kotzer.
The club still wanted to help within the community, supporting local non-profits and community initiatives through donations or manpower wherever possible. The WCC took it upon themselves to rebuild and maintain the outdoor skating rink, located near the schools along Seventh Avenue. In just four short years, the WCC has created six annual fundraisers to help with its vision.
At the beginning of each year in February, the club hosts a Family Super Bowl Party. The much-anticipated sporting event is played for those in attendance, with classic football stadium foods, such as nachos and hot dogs, available for purchase. The club also does a Super Bowl Scoreboard fundraiser, where 100 squares are sold and, based on the score of each quarter of the game, those who pay for a square could win money. This event saw roughly 80 people participating, and the money raised is earmarked for the maintenance and operations of the outdoor rink.
As the weather warms up, the WCC members turn their attention to their two spring/summer fundraisers: the steak supper and the raffle.
The annual steak supper is the WCC’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Originally, this event was a lobster supper when hosted by the Kinsmen and was held during the first week of June. Kotzer explained that over the past few years, attendance numbers have been declining, so the decision was made to move the event to April.
“We held the supper on April 5 and had 180 attendees, which was a great number. From this year’s event, we raised $12,658, with all the proceeds going to the new outdoor pool being built in Wilkie. We topped up the donation to an even $20,000 and presented the funds to the town on April 22,” added Kotzer.
Even with the steak supper wrapped up, the members are still putting in time with their spring-summer raffle. In past years, the top prize was a smoker, however, the club has decided to change it up this year.
“Our raffle this year will have first and second-place prize packs. The first-place prize is a Milwaukee Electric Lawnmower and the second-place prize is a Milwaukee Leaf Blower and 8ah battery,” said Kotzer. He added that proceeds from the raffle will go towards future community projects and tickets are on sale until May 12.
The club takes a break during the summer with their fundraising, but that does not stop them from pitching in where they can. The members were an invaluable resource last year when Gord Bamford stopped in Wilkie for a one-night show, helping crews set up for the evening and serving up some flapjacks at Farm Days to help the Town of Wilkie.
The WCC usually takes to the kitchen again in October, serving up a free community pancake breakfast with the option of contributing to a silver collection. Kotzer did say that any proceeds from the silver collection go towards the Old Timers Banquet.
The Old Timers Banquet is an event that was brought back just this past December after a five-year hiatus. The banquet is a complimentary Christmas turkey supper for residents over the age of 67 in the Wilkie district. Due to the popularity of this event, the WCC teamed up with the Wilkie K40 Kinsmen.
“We had over 180 people come out to enjoy great food, wine and friends they may not get to see very often. The WCC picked up and took home those living in Bethany Assisted Living and Poplar Courts long-term care who wanted to attend the supper. We had the Norman Carter Glee Club come in and sing some Christmas songs for everyone there. It was a huge help having the K40s wanting to come back to help get this event going again; they did all the hard work in the kitchen,” said Kotzer.
The club finishes off its year with a community gift card raffle, to promote buying locally in Wilkie. Tickets are sold for $20, with a chance of winning 11 gift cards valued at $100 or one gift card valued at $200. Winners of the gift cards are then given the opportunity to select which Wilkie business they want a gift card from.
Kotzer is happy to see the club growing in numbers, with 19 members a part of the WCC.
“It is important to have clubs like these to help keep our communities engaged with the different projects and initiatives. With the types of projects going on in our community right now, we need everyone on board to make this happen. If we don’t get people wanting to volunteer their time or come out to these events, we will slowly lose what people in the past worked so hard to have in our town,” he added.
Over the past few years, the WCC has helped rebuild the outdoor rink boards and furnished the rink with new nets in 2023. Annually, the club donates $2,000 to ensure there is free shinny and public skating at the SaskCan Arena, contributes $250 to McLurg High School for the History Award and donates regularly to the Halloween Party put on by the Town of Wilkie.
The club has also made major contributions to special community projects as well. They provided $5,000 to Bethany Assisted Living for roof repairs, $15,000 to the Little Seedlings Daycare as seed money and a $20,000 donation for the Wilkie swimming pool.
Although this group of men steps up to the plate every time, it’s their dedication that has Town of Wilkie staff and council members preaching their praises.
“This group of guys is awesome. They support local projects and are all hardworking, amazing guys. I don’t think I have ever been told no by this group, I would be lost without them. Truly, the greatest group of guys and everyone in the community has benefited from their efforts,” said Lori Fenrich, Wilkie recreation director.
Mayor David Ziegler took to social media to acknowledge all they do for Wilkie.
“The Wilkie Community Club has once again shown its incredible dedication to our town by organizing a fantastic fundraiser. Their hard work and commitment to raising funds for our new swimming pool are truly inspiring, bringing us all closer together. We are so thankful for their unwavering support and leadership in making this project a reality.”
The club is always looking for new projects to take on, but Kotzer said they haven’t figured out what those will be yet, as the group says other greater needs in the community require assistance. They are always excited to welcome new members and ideas to continue to build Wilkie into an amazing community to call home.
