The executive board for the Weyburn & District United Way is seeking to dissolve the local governing organization after more than 50 years. They will be seeking the approval of members at their Annual General Meeting on December 12th.

The meeting will be held in the Vimy Room at the Royal Canadian Legion at 7:00 p.m. and is open to the public.

“It is open to all of our members, and we consider everybody in the general public to be a member of the Weyburn & District United Way, since there are so many people in the community who benefit from the programs and the member agencies that we support,” said Sabrina Kraft, President of the W&DUW executive.

Kraft said at that time they will be celebrating the Communithon Champions.

“We’re inviting everybody and anybody who has ever volunteered with the Communithon, with the board, as an entertainer, to come on out, join us for the meeting,” she said. “We will be giving allocations to our member agencies. We are also presenting a motion to our members to dissolve our United Way Weyburn board.”

She added once member support at that meeting, United Way Weyburn will be closing as December 31, 2018. This means the cheques being distributed to its 13 member agencies that night will be more significant than other years, totaling $170,000.

Kraft explained the reason for putting this motion forward.

“In today’s environment, it has become increasingly difficult for organizations to support the communities they serve adequately, with limited or no staff resources,” she said. “Given the size and capacity of our organization, the board has determined that United Way Weyburn can no longer be effective in our community as currently structured.”

Member approval is required, however, before the board can officially fold. Kraft expressed that the dissolution of the governing agency does not preclude the presence of United Way in Weyburn and area.

“The board of United Way Weyburn is working with other United Ways in Saskatchewan and United Way Canada to develop a strategy for how to support our community going forward,” she explained, noting that the volunteer leadership from the Weyburn community will continue to work with United Way organizations throughout Saskatchewan to ensure the community continues to be served by the United way in a sustainable manner.

“So those funds will still continue to support those in need in our community,” she said, adding that funds made to United Way Canada can be allocated specifically to Weyburn and area.

Kraft said this does not mean Communithon is off the table. In fact, she expressed it has the potential for becoming something greater.

“We still have a lot of support for Communithon, and many members of the volunteer committee still want to move forward,” she said, adding they still have the support from Access Communications to continue the event.

Board work, she explained, is separate from Communithon committee work.

“It has typically always been a volunteer-driven committee, it has always taken direction from the board, and there will still be a United Way presence they will report to, but as volunteers they will be able to do more by just concentrating on the fundraising aspect of the Communithon, how to make it better, how to get more attention on it in the community without worrying about board business,” said Kraft.

Anyone with concerns about the executive decision to dissolve the board is welcome to attend on Wednesday.

A separate meeting for the Communithon volunteer committee will be held in January.