Canmore council voted earlier this month to approve spending $2,000 to match funds from the local Rotary Club to send disadvantaged children to Big Fun Camps this summer.
Manager of recreation services Jim Younker made the request to council at its final meeting before taking a summer break.
He said Canmore Rotary Club has funded the Campership program for over 15 years to provide disadvantaged children with access to local Big Fun Camps, but for the first time in the program’s history, $2,000 was not sufficient to meet the demand.
As a result, Younker asked council to approve $2,000 from the operating reserve to the program and help send another 11 or 12 additional children to camp.
“The investment in an expanded children’s day camp program responds to the affordability issues of our community and is aligned with the community conscience model that is integral to the municipal enterprise model for service delivery,” Younker wrote in a staff report to council.
The Campership program is designed for children and youth under the age of 18 whose families are low income, unemployed, on AISH, or currently receiving income support through the provincial government. It provides $200 per child each calendar year to help with registration fees.
