By Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Big Brothers Big Sisters named winner of Rotary Club’s 100th Anniversary Legacy Project

Sep 24, 2018 | 1:36 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Forty-five years of serving the local community and a well-written plan helped Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Lethbridge secure the Rotary Club of Lethbridge’s 100th anniversary Legacy Project.

A cheque for $100,000 was presented to Big Brothers Big Sisters at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge on Monday, Sept. 24, after being selected from 17 submissions overall.

Back in June, the Rotary Club celebrated 100 years in the Lethbridge area.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lethbridge Executive Director, Jen Visser, says being selected doesn’t seem real yet.

“That amount of money is enormous for an agency, and for us. We’ve been serving our community for 45 years, we’ve been in the same building since the early 1990s and we’ve grown so much over the past few years.”

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

The $100,000 will go towards renovations and expansions at the existing building, with Visser projecting construction to take up to a year or a year-and-a-half to complete. The big grant funding is on top of $200,000 that they’ve saved up over the years for a project like this.

“I mean it was a big grant project, so we had to have a full out written proposal and it was something that as a board and as an organization we put a lot of thought and effort into. It’s something that isn’t just for now, but it’s for the future. For the Rotary Club, them celebrating 100 years, that’s big and doesn’t happen often,” Visser said, adding when the grant application came across her desk, she thought it was a long shot but worth an entry.

“The need for mentors in our community is astronomical,” she continued. “So, we’re doing an expansion to our building so that we have a better space and opportunities for both children and volunteers in our community.”

In all, the construction will add an extra 1,000 square feet to the existing building, which will include additional storage, interview and office space.

Visser says that will allow Big Brothers Big Sister to keep growing, with the goal being to help 1,000 kids a year in the community with mentorship programs.

“We offer a number of different mentoring programs. Our traditional one where you get out into the community for two or three hours a week. We have in school mentoring, we have programs for teens, a lot of people don’t realize how far our reach is but last year we had 500 children and currently, there are over 100 children waiting for a mentor.”

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.