Liz Scott was surprised by the figure she read on her calculator.
"I didn't realize the actual volumes," she said.
Over the past seven years the Squamish Rotary Club has captured $105,000 in provincial gaming funds to hand to various charities, the club's chair of gaming funds said. This year the club was one of three community organizations in the West Vancouver-Sea to Sky area to snag the spoils.
"We've got $15,000 each year," Scott said.
Last week Rotary members dished out the dough to Squamish organizations - the Helping Hands Society, Sea to Sky Big Brothers Big Sisters, Callaghan's Biathlon Bears children's program, the Evans Lake Forestry Camp and a school breakfast program.
The breakfast program is administered in partnership with the Rotary and Helping Hands. Muffins and healthy meals are provided to Squamish schools to ensure students get a good start to their day, Scott said.
"This year the program will also go into Don Ross Secondary School and Valleycliffe Elementary School," Scott said.
Rotary has pumped $21,000 into the initiative. As a mother, the program strikes a chord with Scott. She wasn't shocked that some Squamish youth head to school hungry, but was taken aback by the extent of the issue.
"The scope was a bit surprising," Scott said.
Money going to Big Brothers Big Sisters will be put into the organization's teen mentoring program. The Rotary Club also put $4,000 toward its youth programs, which include the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Camps and Adventures in Citizenship - a four-day trip to Ottawa for more than 200 high school students that's designed to develop their leadership skills.
For more information about the Squamish Rotary Club visit www.squamishrotary.com.
