An area man’s wish to honour his late wife, and his commitment to his faith, have moved him to donate property to the Habitat for Humanity organization.

Habitat for Humanity is an international organization that began in the United States in 1976, with the idea of working with those in need to  provide them safe, affordable housing.

Rosebud resident Albert N. Clark, who started the Akokiniskway golf course in 1991, received approval to subdivide a piece of residential property in Drumheller, in order to make his donation.

“We have this lot, and my wife passed away two years ago. Actually, it was Easter Sunday,” said Clark.

“I was hoping when I contacted Habitat for Humanity, we could start a chapter here in Drum. I think it’s a really good place for it. I like the way they work it. They concentrate on people who wouldn’t be able to supply a house otherwise. It’s usually families in need of a house.”

Clark said he’s always felt badly for young people starting out because of the large amount of a down payment required to purchase a home, and it seems to be becoming more difficult for people to secure their down payment. 

That’s why he has always appreciated the work Habitat does, he said.

“They’re not only able to make a house for them, they’re able to make a home for them.”

Clark said his late wife Joan was a supporter of social issues, and was behind his idea to donate the land for housing a family.

The Clarks were able to celebrate more than 50 years of marriage before Joan’s passing.

Heidi Lambie with the Southern Alberta chapter of Habitat for Humanity, who has been working with Mr. Clark, said they hope to have the land transfer completed by the end of June.

She notes this type of land donation is rare - Habitat usually approaches the local government of the town or city it wishes to build a home in, with a request to donate the land.

“We were thrilled when he came forward. I know that means a lot to him and his wife’s legacy. We’re honoured  to be part of that for him,” Lambie said.

Habitat home recipients are required to put in 500 hours of sweat equity, meaning they participate in the building of their home.

Lambie is hoping there is enough community interest and support in Drumheller to open a chapter of Habitat for Humanity in Drumheller. 

The first Habitat home built in Canada was in 1985 in Manitoba.

Volunteers for the community group Kaleidoscope Theatre as it heads into its 32nd year are looking ahead to the summer and fall, and would like to know what audiences are interested in seeing.

Kaleidoscope threw around ideas for their upcoming season and discussed the results of the previous show they did, Nunsensations, at their Annual General Meeting the end of January, said the group’s Secretary Deanne Zariski.

“We alwasy appreciate the community’s input into what they want to see at the theatre, so if anybody has any ideas, or shows that they would like to see,they can check us out on facebook or mention it to any one of the (board) members.”

Zariski said Kaleidoscope’s discussions on what to present for their 2015 season were productive;

 “We didn’t decide on anything definitive, but we have a couple of ideas that we’re going to pursue,” she said. “We’re considering doing a musical for the summer, but we’re also considering doing a musical for the fall, so we don’t want to do back-to-back.”

She said Kaleidoscope plans to hold a series of open one-act plays, which means anyone that wants to be in theatre will have a part, and she hopes people will step outside their comfort zone. 

“We’ll basically shape the show around who we have audition,” she explains, which opens up theatre performances to those in their late teens and up.” If people have lots of experience, or no experience, it’ll be open to anyone.”

The theatre group held the musical “Nunsensations” in November, the  rights for which cost them $4,500, and drew less of an audience than the previous Nunsensations plays they held and lower numbers than they anticipated.

Zariski said the theatre attributed the low attendance to the large number of other local events in town, but notes the audiences they did receive were amazing.

She said Kaleidoscope  also discussed some expansion of the theatre in terms of lighting to more versatile lights, and notes they installed the new front curtain before Nunsensations opening.

The non-profit community group also saw some changes on the board, with Ashley Turner taking over from Carol Todor as Treasurer, and Warren Nicholls moves from Vice President to President, with Becky Neuman now Past President.

Kaleidoscope gets the majority of its funding through holding a casino every few years, and everything they earn from shows goes back into the theatre group.

 Those further interested can also visit the group’s webpage at www.kaleidoscopetheatre.ca.