The Battle River Community Foundation awarded a $17,500 grant to The City of Camrose Public Library Board. Battle River Community Foundation Board Member Carol Rollheiser presents the cheque to The City of Camrose Public Library Board Director, Carol Williams and Camrose Public Library Director, Alyssa Martin.
The grant is from the Ross and Denise Irving Fund which was established from the Estate of Denise Irving to support The City of Camrose Public Library.
Library Director, Alyssa Martin said the Library is facing funding challenges this year and would have had to make difficult cuts if it were not for the Battle River Community Foundation.
“This year, the Battle River Community Foundation is providing the entirety of the funds for the collection. In 2023, all new items the Library purchases for the Dementia Project, Library of Things, magazines, newspapers, books, and movies will all be thanks to the Ross and Denise Irving Fund,” stated Martin.
Martin said, “Last year the Irving Fund allowed the Library to hire enough summer students to pilot the Book Bike, which allows the Library to go out into the community bringing internet, the collection, and wonderful programming to those who cannot reach us.” She went on to say, “We were able to start rebuilding our sense of community, reach new users, and spread the love of reading and literacy because of the Battle River Community Foundation.”
The Battle River Community Foundation exists to support organizations in east central Alberta, which benefit the local communities and have a positive impact on the future.
Grants from the Battle River Community Foundation are primarily made possible through the generosity of individual donors and organizations that have created endowment funds. The principal of these endowment funds are kept intact and the income is made available annually to support local projects and organizations.
Since it was founded in 1995, the Battle River Community Foundation has granted over $8,679,700 to support charitable activities in the Battle River Region.