Sunrise Rotarians Raise $7,000 for School Lunches
On October 29, 2025, The Sunrise Rotary Club held a Sweet & Savory Dessert Auction which raised $7,000 to go to the Mustard Seed School Lunch Program in Red Deer.
The Mustard Seed School lunch program provides healthy lunches for children from impoverished families who otherwise may go without. Each lunch consists of a sandwich, veggie, fruit, and a granola bar. The program plays a vital role in ensuring that students have access to nutritious meals, supporting their well-being and ability to focus on their education.
Our club president, Judy-Ann Wybenga and her husband, Johan, were our gracious hosts at our 2025 Sweet & Savory Auction fundraiser for the Red Deer Mustard Seed school lunch program. Included in the auction were eight sweet desserts and one savory auction item on the block and special additions of four special live auction items; including flowers for a year (STEMS), wine (Oxleys), a custom bird house (R. Rauckman) and a 3 night excursion to Canmore (Steenwyks.) Dawnette Hill, with her engaging auctioneer skills, infused the event with enthusiasm, creating a truly memorable experience.
Our fundraising goal for the event was to raise $2,000, but it quickly exceeded expectations, more than tripling our target and reaching over $7,000. We presented the donation to Scott Tilbury on December 3rd which surprisingly coincided with “Giving Tuesday” and was eligible for a matching donation! What a happy ending to our fundraiser with $2,000 goal to become $14,200 ! We are proud of our club and all the friends who came out to support this great cause. Thank you all!
Scott Tilbury, Senior Development Officer from the Mustard Seed, spoke at our club meeting on October 8, sharing insights into the impactful community work they undertake. Scott has been with the mustard seed for nine years. He said that 700 volunteers are scheduled every month to help with all of the programming and they also partner with the YMCA to do the lunches. When the program started they were doing 200 lunches per day and now they do 700 lunches per day. It takes $350,000 per year to run the school lunch program in Red Deer and it's part of Scott's job to help lower the costs. There is no Provincial of Federal Funding for the lunch program; 22% of required funds comes through grants, some comes from the Catholic and RD Public School Boards, and then there are generous local suppliers like Becks, Pic n Pack, and Sobeys North. 78% of the funds come from the community. The program's commitment to providing these meals demonstrates a strong sense of community care and a dedication to the health of local children.
Scott is in the process of finding a good supplier of apples because the best price he is currently finding is $1 per apple. The program needs 20 boxes of apples every week and there are approximately 55 apples in each box.
The biggest need right now is for drivers between the hours of 9am – 12pm to deliver the lunches to 56 schools in Central Alberta. The scope is quite large, not only Red Deer but Sylvan Lake, Innisfail, Bowden, Delburne, Elnora and Trochu.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all the club members, generous friends, and esteemed guests who participated in and supported this wonderful event. Your collective enthusiasm and dedication were instrumental in making this fundraiser a success, and we are immensely appreciative of your support.
October 29, 2025