Cheryl Thomas has been with the North Thompson Communities Foundation (NTCF) board since the inception of the foundation in 2003. Thomas is a long time valley volunteer, community supporter and member of a number of organizations in the valley such as; the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Wells Gray, the Royal Purple, the North Thompson Aboriginal Cultural Centre Society and of course the NTCF. The active mother, grandma and friend to many values her role as director with the NTCF.
“There are so many different kinds of people in this valley. The people that are supportive of the North Thompson Communities Foundation are people that really care about the future, and they want to find a way to give. Many give by money and others give by time and also just being mentors for us. We’ve had the support of many wonderful people serving as board members like Franz Friesinger our past chair, is ‘worldly’ and in our small valley it was so great to have someone that spoke different languages, well-travelled and his vision and ideas for the foundation were grand,” Thomas told Black Press on Sunday April 6 during an interview outside her home garden in Clearwater.
Thomas says people have to have a “vision” and added, “The foundation is a vision for the valley’s future and our motto is ‘Together we are stronger’ meaning we do this together as a whole valley, supporting each other right from McLure to Blue River, from the shores out there at Adams Lake to Wells Gray Park. Oh my goodness the people that we’ve helped as a result of people donating funds has been everyone from 4-H buying nail clippers for their horses to installing boat launches in at Adams Lake with the TNRD in partnership, or another example the beautiful Blue River Community Garden and all of those kinds of things. It’s really phenomenal what has been accomplished by the NTCF over the years for the good of the valley!”
The NTCF director mentioned the Prosperity Fund that the foundation worked in partnership with Yellowhead Community Service (YCS) recently to establish the ‘Foodie Program’ in Barriere which is starting a soup kitchen there.
She said, “It’s so rewarding to be part of a group like this. I don’t care about being on executives I just want to be part of a group that is working for the future. Once we have great grandchildren we realize the value of the future way more than when we were younger. There is such a need for people in the valley to step up and serve on these worthwhile boards. We encourage young people to join us and it’s nice to have a full working board to accomplish things.”
The dedicated director is excited about a new Environmental Grant being launched soon, starting on April 15 with applications being accepted until May 15. “We will be offering four $500 grants with one grant being awarded to a teacher-led student project. $100 of the grant may be used as an honorarium and used to support the group’s own purposes. We have information about this grant and the applications available on our website – we are really looking forward to receiving those applications,” said Thomas.
If your group is interested in the new Environmental Grant or you have questions about donating or becoming involved in the North Thompson Communities Foundation, you can contact them by visiting their website at: https://www.ntcommunitiesfoundation.com/
