You can help fight hunger in Selkirk and play bingo at the same time at the Selkirk Lions Club’s Thursday Evening Bingo
The Selkirk and District Lions Club is a service club based in Selkirk that puts in some hard work to make our community a better place to live. They want to let residents know about what they are up to and how you can support their work in our community.
“We’re doing a bingo, and what we’re doing with the bingo is we are putting the proceeds of our bingo towards the free meals that we give away to the community,” said Lions Club Board Member and Bingo Chairperson Renee Danchuk.
The Selkirk Lions Club’s Thursday Evening Bingo takes place at the Selkirk Friendship Centre (425 Eveline Street) on Thursdays. Doors open at 5 p.m., and that’s when cards start being sold. The early bird starts at 6:45 p.m.
Danchuk explained that the bingo fun ends at about 9:50 p.m. and that they also host a 50/50 with proceeds also going to their meal program.
The Lions Club meal program runs at lunch time one Saturday a month and provides a meal to anyone in the community who shows up.
“If you were down and out one day and needed a meal, there’s no questions asked. You just come and get a lunch. You don’t have to show us ID, and there’s no criteria. You just show up, you get a meal,” said Danchuk.
She also wanted to emphasize that it’s a come as you are operation. There is no prior registration required. Just stop by and knock on the door.
She saiad, “We have a commercial kitchen in our building at 320 Christie Ave. We purchase all of the supplies for (lunch). So, if we’re making chili, we purchase everything to make the chili. Nothing is donated to us. We prefer that the donations in town go to the Soup Kitchen because they operate five days a week. Right now, we’re doing it one Saturday a month and hoping to increase to two Saturdays a month.”
If this is something that you might be interested in, the best way to figure out which Saturday they are hosting meals is to check on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/selkirklions/), head to the Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen when they are open over lunch time Monday to Friday and check out the poster which is updated regularly, or give the Lions a call at 204-482-3919 or email selkirklionsclub@gmail.com.
If you’re someone who would like to support this effort in our community, you can always have some fun at Thursday night Bingo, but there are also a couple of other ways that people can help.
If you keep an eye on their Facebook page ahead of the holiday season the Lions Club does a holiday cake sale, but, this time of year, the event you’ll want to mark on your calendar is the Selkirk Lions Club Spring Market and Craft Sale which takes place on April 11 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. and not only supports the meals program but gives local vendors a chance to connect with the local people that really appreciate what they have to offer. Vendors can email selkirklionsmarkets@gmail.com for an application.
The Selkirk Lions are all very passionate about their fundraising because they are passionate about helping feed our community.
“There are a lot of people struggling to make ends meet these days. You know, from not having a job, to feeding a family of one or two or ten. It’s a struggle out there for people today,” explained Danchuk.
It’s a credit to the volunteers who put their hours of work into these projects that make this program possible, and they are always looking for more people, regardless of whether you want to become an official member or just want to help out and volunteer your time without sign up officially..
“(We welcome) anybody of any age. There’s no criteria,” she said.
As for Danchuk herself, she comes all the way from Winnipeg to volunteer, so you know there’s something special about being a part of this group.
“I used to live out there, so I know a lot of the people. And, my favourite part is helping everybody, and the camaraderie and the friendships that we make,” she said.
If you would like to volunteer, you can email selkirklionsclub@gmail.com or give them a call at 204-482-3919 to learn more.
Danchuk hopes that she can welcome some newcomers to Thursday Night Bingo and find some new friends who’d like to volunteer.
“Come and support the bingo because the Lions Club supports the community,” she said.
