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Snow
is Winnipeg's most ubiquitous feature, but the
city's nine Rotary clubs have turned what some
consider its biggest drawback into an asset by
raising more than C$10,000 for PolioPlus through
the Snowman City project.
Club
members made a donation for each of the 800
snowmen that were built by the city's schools,
businesses, and families and raised the rest of
the money by selling snowmen pins. Maria den
Oudsten, the president of the Rotary Club of
Winnipeg, came up with the idea and then drummed
up support through the local media and convinced
prominent businesses to participate.
The
project culminated with an awards ceremony for 400
guests at the Fort Garry Hotel on 22 February
2003. A panel of judges appointed by the Rotary
clubs of Winnipeg presented trophies and prizes of
$1,000 to the proud builders of the five best
snowmen, based on each snowman's sturdiness,
decoration, presence, and charm. Corporate
sponsors provided the funds for the cash prizes. A
middle school, an electricity company, and the
city planning and development board were among the
winners. |
"It
was a great event," den Oudsten says. "For
everyone that made a snowman it was their personal project
and their labor of love. This city has an inferiority
complex about the cold and snow, and we wanted to use it
as an asset. When we build a snowman, it doesn't
melt."
The
event received media exposure from local and national
newspapers and television stations and opened the eyes of
the community to Rotary's work to eradicate polio.
The
lesson of the Snowman City project is that, "we
shouldn't complain about the snow because we are
healthy," says den Oudsten, who hopes to make this an
annual event and would like to see 10,000 snowmen built
during the centennial year. "We need to realize how
lucky we are and help and have compassion for people all
over the world who still face the threat of polio."
"This
was a natural project for children to get involved in and
they loved it," den Oudsten adds. "This really
stuck in people's hearts and many people sent in checks.
This raised awareness for what Rotary is trying to
do."
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