The ongoing restoration effort of flood damaged George Lane Park in High River received an unlikely financial boost on Wednesday.
High River resident Debi Stephenson presented Mayor Craig Snodgrass with a cheque for $7,000 which was raised through the sale of donated graduation dresses.
Following the flooding of the Highwood River in June 2013, Stephenson turned to social media to ask for help replacing the graduation dresses her daughter and other members of the 2013 graduation class lost in the disaster.
Support for the cause skyrocketed and, in a short period of time, the initiative received more than 1,500 dresses and accessories, generously donated by people across Canada.
More than 400 of the donated pieces came from the Saskatchewan town of Estevan where a school teacher spearheaded support for the cause.
“I really want to extend a huge thank you to Tanis Savill in Estevan and her sister Leah Zacharias along with all of the local businesses in the surrounding area that made shipping of the donations possible,” says Stephenson.
Stephenson says she was overwhelmed by the support and was touched by the contributions of a group of post-secondary students.
“The University of Lethbridge sorority group delta Eta iota also was a great donor along with many businesses and individuals all over Canada.”
Stephenson received far more dresses than the students required and a surplus of dresses remained in her home after the High River prom.
Buck’n Up for Kids Ltd., a Calgary-based non-profit organization, offered to hold a January trunk sale of the excess dresses. A decision was made to donate all of the proceeds to rebuild George Lane Park, a site which has hosted previous graduation ceremonies.
The January sale was a smashing success. 300 dresses were sold, raising $7,000 for the park’s remediation.
