Yesterday, members
of the Saanich Fruit Growers' Association (Vern Michell, Harold
McCarthy, Phil Holloway and Tom Scott) presented a cheque to Brentwood
Elementary School for $30,000. What an amazing donation! The association
began almost 100 years ago and was a co-operative association of large
and small farms. The farmers shipped strawberries and loganberries for
fresh market sales and wine making. In the past, the farms belonging to
the Fruit Growers' Association provided family and community employment
at the central processing location, "the fruit shed" on Keating Cross
Road in Saanichton It also provided seasonal work during harvest season
until the late 1970's for many of the local residence. Many of the
members of the Association either attended Saanich Schools or have
grandchildren, cousins, or other family members currently enrolled in
Saanich. The remaining association members wanted to donate these funds
within the community to acknowledge the important role that the
association played on the Peninsula. The Fruit Growers are clearly part
of strong Central Saanich
"roots" in caring and sharing, and I extend a very warm thank you to
them for the their kind and extremely generous donation.
Joining
us in great thanks for these funds are Bayside Middle school and
Keating Elementary school who have also received the same generous
donation. Over
the next couple of weeks, all three schools will be working together to
come up with a plan to thank the Saanich Fruit Growers' Association. We
will be certain to share this plan with our community when we have a
date, time and place.
This
information has been shared at the Brentwood PAC Meeting last evening
and with the school staff. I very much
look forward to consulting with the Brentwood School Parent's Advisory
Council along with the School Budget Committee on how to best spend
these funds, in order to enhance our school community