Two local organizations landed sizable donations thanks to proceeds raised via the Glencross Charity Invitational Roughstock held this past August at Westerner Park.
Curtis Glencross of Glencross and Friends along with representatives from Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta and the Hockey Alberta Foundation gathered for the cheque presentation Friday at the Ronald McDonald House in Red Deer.
Altogether, $190,000 was raised which will be split between the two organizations.
“It’s a great honour for us to do this once again this year,” said Glencross, adding how grateful he is for the tremendous support from the community at large as well. “The people of Red Deer and Central Alberta have big hearts and they step up time after time,” he said.
“There are a lot of fundraisers and a lot of events through the year, and you continue to step up. We are blessed to have all of your support,” he said during the presentation.
To date, the annual Glencross Charity Invitational Roughstock has raised almost $1.6 million over the past seven years, he said.
“I’ve heard that term family used a few times today and of course, that is what the Ronald McDonald House is all about,” said Jason Evanson, CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities Alberta.
“We’re so fortunate to be a part of the Glencross and Friends family. The impact that you’ve had on the moms, the dads, the siblings and the sick kids that stay at Ronald McDonald House here at the Red Deer house is quite profound.
“We also can’t thank the community enough for rallying behind this initiative to empower you to donate so generously to our organization and to Hockey Alberta as well,” he said.
“We’ve been in operation here now for seven years and you’ve been with us all along the way. And so every family that is staying in this facility has been touched by the sport of the Glencross Roughstock Rodeo. That is something that (you all) should be very proud of, and it’s something that I’m proud of,” he continued.
“Happy holidays to all of you. This is also a great way for us to kick off the season here at Ronald McDonald House and I’m sure for Hockey Alberta as well,” he said.
Dennis Zukiwsky, vice chair of the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s board of directors, also said how grateful his organization is of the continued support from the Glencross Invitational.
“On behalf of the board of directors of the Hockey Alberta Foundation and the ‘Every Kid Every Community’ program, we can’t thank you enough.” he said.
“Over the past number of years, we’ve given away over a million dollars to needy kids across this province – 110 communities in this province have got programs in place now where kids can play hockey where they never would have had the opportunity. We’ve got 4,800 kids that have benefited from Every Kid Every Community, and every cent that is raised from this donation goes back to those communities to help kids play hockey here in Alberta.
“We can’t say enough – you guys are absolutely awesome. We are thrilled to have you as partners.”
