Golfers from the Malahat First Nation and beyond will descend on Bear Mountain this weekend to raise funds for a much-needed daycare and recreation centre.
As part of the Malahat Nation’s fifth annual fundraiser, more than 100 golfers will enjoy a friendly competition on the green, before an evening of celebration during a gala.
“I’m excited. Just to see the response we’ve gotten from a lot of the people, it’s overwhelming just to see how much support Malahat Nation gets out there,” said councillor Matthew Harry, adding the tournament is one of the nation’s largest fundraisers. “I want people to come together and enjoy the day.”
During the last four years, the event has raised funds for the new Kwanu Kwasun Culture Centre, 16 social programs such as life skills, positive parenting and youth sports, and after school programs, as well as social programming such as employment training opportunities.
Last year’s fundraiser drew roughly 50 golfers and more than 200 people for the gala, and raised more than $200,000, funds that went towards designing the daycare and recreation centre, a project that’s been in the works for the past few years. This year’s fundraiser hopes to bring the facility another step closer to fruition. “The daycare was one of our biggest goals when we first came into office two years ago. We’ve seen the growth in our younger members and said ‘hey, we need to build this daycare for them,’” said Harry, adding there are more than 35 members under the age of 15. “It’s for parents to benefit as well so that they can go to school and get job training.”
Crews have already started to prep the ground for construction next to the Kwanu Kwasun Centre in the Malahat Village and a construction manager has been selected to run the site.
The golf tournament and gala takes place Friday, Sept. 29 at Bear Mountain. For more information, visit malahatnation.ca.
