With a maximum of $10,000, Western GM plans to exceed last year’s total of $8,700 for St. Anthony’s School by having members of the community participate and test-drive a new Buick.

Each test ride and sign-up sheet donates $20 to the cause. The track is from Rosedale and back to the location you started from. Friday, May 26, the dealership is located at the DVSS parking lot near the west side entrance from noon until 9:00 p.m. this evening.

Saturday, the vehicles are back at the dealership for another spin from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.A car wash is going to be set up with hot dogs as well as any cash donations for the Drumheller Football Association.There is no obligation to buy a vehicle as the event is strictly for fundraising purposes.

The community showed their support for those in need and was able to Stuff the Bus for The Salvation Army Food bank.

Stuff the Bus was held at the ATB Parking lot on Thursday, August 31. The community came out in droves to support those who use the local food bank.

Organizer of the annual event, Shannon Wade, was heartened by the community support.

“It always seems that the community pulls together and comes out in support,” she said.

Jennifer Hillier of The Salvation Army tells the Mail they were down a little bit in food donations but were able to collect 1,753 pounds of food donations.

They did, however, see a jump in financial contributions and collected $4,209 in donations. This will be matched by Encana up to $3,000.

Hillier says she is grateful for Encana’s contribution, as well as the hard work of Wade and the many volunteers who contributed their time.

She is also grateful to Hi-Way 9 Express, which sponsored a barbecue to raise funds for the food bank.

“It was a great event and as always support from the community was amazing,” said Hillier.

She adds if anyone missed Stuff the Bus and still wants to donate, food donations can be dropped off at The Salvation Army Church or at the donation boxes in local grocery stores. Financial contributions can be dropped at the church or at The Salvation Army Thrift Store.

The RBC gold medal team presents a cheque to Heart and Stroke Foundation area manager Josie Doll. The Big Bike is structured to hold 29bikers including the driver to make a total of 30 people at any given time. 

RBC, Scotia Bank, CIBC, and Western Financial participated in the Big Bike Ride held by the Heart and Stroke Foundation on a trail around town in support of critical heart and stroke research on Tuesday, June 6 at the Badlands Community Facility in Drumheller. 

“A lot of it’s about team building, about getting out, getting active, getting your heart rate going, and that sort of thing,” said Josie Doll, Heart and Stroke Foundation Area Manager. 

The groups raised over $10,000 with RBC taking on their fourth year and becoming a gold medal team after raising more than $5,000. Medals are awarded to teams that reach and or exceed the $5,000 goal.

“That's a lot of money to raise from a small town especially,” said Doll. “We were lucky to have a very beautiful day – clearly great people involved in doing that for us.”

Each bike holds 29 riders with the addition of a driver who announces and plays music during the ride.

“It’s quite a unique experience really for people to get on there and to see it moving,” said Doll. “There is no motor, so we actually do pedal that thing. It can be hard work but everybody had a lot of fun on it so we’ll be back again next year.”

The Heart and Stroke Foundation plans to reach a southern Albertan goal of $75,000 in support of Heart and Stroke research this year. So far, a grand total of $60,000 has been raised across the southern half. The bike itself can be found all across Canada but two can be found in the province during the summer months.

“It’s really like you are part of something very large,” said Doll. 

The money raised usually goes towards research at Universities like the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta.

“There are a number of things where the money goes,” said Doll. “We placed AEDs throughout the country – that was part of the plan last year so we have 8,000 of them across Canada.”

The Rumsey Ride for STARS kicks off Sunday, August 13, at the TL Bar Ranch near Rumsey and Trochu.

As the longest standing STARS volunteer fundraiser in Alberta, this year has lots to offer.

“Most charity organizations maybe only last five or six years as the shelf life but we’re kind of like the energizer bunny, we just keep going and going,” said Rob Richmond, the spokesperson for the event. “It’s kind of the calling card of all the rides and all the charity fundraisers for STARS.”

The volunteer fundraiser for STARS is considered a ‘huge, huge event’ with the trail rides raking in the most cash.

“The bulk of it is for the trail ride, they have it down at the ranch and Ricky and Jamie Anderson and the Lynch’s and have done it for years now down there. Depending on the year there is usually 100 or so riders.

Tons of other functions are available on the day of the annual Ride for STARS event like a special Ducks and Dogs demonstration from Jill Brodie, a quilting prize raffle, and a silent auction.

“My sister has donated probably 20 quilts over the years for the raffle,” said Richmond. “I mean there is so much stuff going on that it’s absolutely crazy.”

A smorgasbord of food will let no one become hungry as a large lineup of well known local groups aid hunger pangs.

To kick off the day, the Rumsey volunteer fire department puts on a pancake breakfast followed by Gooch’s Gang hotdog lunch from 12 to two p.m. Later on in the afternoon from four until 6 p.m., Mary Newton of the Country Cookers puts on a beef supper.

“I say it’s the best barbecue beef supper around and I challenge anybody to it,” Richmond exclaimed.

A STARS booth will be set up for everyone to check out with lots of neat souvenirs.

“They have people there and they’ll sell their swag and I heard they are going to have lots of new stuff this year,” said Richmond.

Over $40,000 was raised last year alone for STARS with over $700,000 raised in the past 27 years.

“That’s what makes it such a big thing is the volunteers,” Richmond highlighted. “It’s not just organizers, it’s the people that come down and help out; the Rumsey Ag Society, the

Rumsey volunteer fire department, the Alix fire department, and everybody else.”

The trail rides have been dedicated to the Ride for STARS president Ernie Goddard for this year.

“We have all these great folks and volunteers that have helped. Ernie has been the president for years – he still rides and is 80 plus years old,” said Richmond.

Each year as a fun tradition, a contest is made for all the trail riders. Prizes are awarded to both the youngest and the oldest.

“It’s a pretty cool thing,” said Richmond.

If donating money is not an option, time certainly can be the currency. Richmond encourages folks to take part in the event by volunteering their time and energy.

Keep up with upcoming videos created by Richmond. It can be found on their Facebook page here.