Celebration Choir benefit concerts

Manny Everett

Times Contributor 

 

The Celebration Choir, under the direction of choral director Joanne Dyck, presented three concerts over the weekend to not only display their voices but to throw their support behind two amazing causes at the beginning of this Christmas season. 

Choir members from Brooks, Duchess, Rosemary, Tilley, Rolling Hills, Scandia, Gleichen, Gem and Bassano have been getting together every week for 10 weeks to polish their voices in preparation for one weekend filled with music. 

These volunteers were dedicated to providing funds to Ashton House and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank in the freewill offerings in Rosemary Mennonite Church on Friday, Trinity Lutheran Church on Saturday and at Hope Covenant Church on Sunday afternoon.

The group raised $3,537.15 for Ashton’s House, a safe place for homeless youth to find shelter and counseling, and learn about nutrition, employment and finances. 

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of Canadian churches and church-based agencies working together to end global hunger by increasing and deepening the involvement of Canadians in efforts to end hunger, supporting partnerships and activities to reduce hunger on an immediate and sustainable basis and influencing changes in public policies necessary to end hunger. 

“Together with the support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), they have provided over 1.1 million tonnes of food assistance to over 80 countries since 1983”. 

They include such things as “food-for-work” projects, irrigation projects and reforestation projects in third world countries. The weekend concerts raised just over $14,000 for the food bank.

Anyone interested in joining the choir can email Colleen Davidson at boring1@telusplanet.net to be added to the list.