Deer Lodge serves an evolving community
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This article was published 23/04/2019 (2328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Established in 1939, Deer Lodge Community Centre is one of the oldest clubs in St. James.
According to board president Rose Foulkes, Deer Lodge serves everyone from infants to seniors at its centre 323 Bruce Ave. — but the makeup of the neighbourhood is changing.
“It is an evolving community, there are a lot of elderly people that are moving on and younger families are moving into the neighbourhood, so the community is getting revitalized,” she said.
The makeup of the club’s volunteer board is constantly changing, as well. Foulkes, like many board members, got involved when her son started playing soccer at Deer Lodge. She said finding and retaining volunteers can be a challenge because once kids age out of activities at the centre their parents often step away as well.
“The idea of being part of the board and part of the club is to impact what our kids are part of,” she said, adding that there are currently nine members on the board and one opening.
Deer Lodge employs several part-time and seasonal staff, including as many teenagers as their budget allows.
“We really make a point of hiring kids to give them their first work experience because we’re a community centre and we’re all about helping community,” Foulkes said. “That tends to be the demographic of who would be willing to work for what we’re able to pay.”
The club is funded by the City of Winnipeg and rents its space to make some extra money to keep up with maintenance and repairs of an aging facility. In recent years, it has received grants to re-do the skate floor in the centre and widen some doorways to make them wheelchair accessible.
On a weekly basis, Deer Lodge hosts zumba, yoga and the occasional hula hoop fitness class; as well as a parent and child coalition and Girl Guides Sparks, Brownies and Pathfinder groups.
They run soccer, hockey and baseball for younger ages and have started a flag rugby program to fill the gap for families who can’t keep up with the competition level or time commitment of higher-level sports.
“Past eight years old, the whole game of soccer changes,” said Foulkes, whose husband is a certified rugby coach. “That’s why we started the flag rugby program, to keep them active and keep them in the community.
“It’s a fabulous game and surprisingly we have more girls registered than boys.”