Sandstone MacEwan’s July President’s Message

Happy Canada Day!

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to significantly impact our lives and as we head into warmer weather and vacation season, we need to remain vigilant in following recommendations from health and government officials. The great news is our parks, playgrounds, and outdoor hockey rink are all open for use using safe distancing practices.

The pandemic has resulted in more people getting outside and walking the pathways and enjoying the parks. We are so fortunate to have Nose Hill right next to us and can feel like we have left the city walking through the treed areas.

When out, why not do two great things at the same time and consider “PLALKing”? Picking up litter while walking is a fantastic way to get exercise while cleaning up your neighbourhood. The SMCA Board has bags, gloves, masks, and extender grabbers that are available upon request.

The Berkshire Citadel Church continues to be extremely busy supporting nearby families through their weekly food hamper program. The SMCA Board was proud to provide a donation towards this muchneeded program.

The SMCA Board continues to support the brown bag lunch program sponsored through Food Finder YYC. Each day, between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm, volunteers are handing out bagged lunches to kids in need.

Once again, our volunteer group planted planters that are strategically placed throughout Sandstone and MacEwan. If you can offer to water the plants close to your home, that would be extremely helpful. A special thanks to Carolyn Gomez who manages this initiative. You can send her an email at [email protected].

Sadly, we have had to cancel Sandstock (music in the park) this year; however, we plan to be bigger and better next year! We are trying to arrange for some activities in the community honoring social distancing in the near future.

As I mentioned last month, once the City of Calgary opens the compost site, Big Man Landscaping will drop off compost for you to pick up near the Sandstone Hockey Rink. Please keep an eye on our website and social media sites for information.

The SMCA Board does not have formal board meetings through July and August; however, we remain available through email and social media sites. We are looking for board members and have exciting projects we will be managing in the future, including building a shed and porch area for the pleasure rink on Sandstone Dr., as well as replacing the hockey rink on Sandarac Dr. Please email me for more information.

Please contact us on our website or our social media sites including Facebook, SMCA, Twitter, @sandstonemac, or https://www.instagram.com/sandstonemacewan/. Look for our occasional emails and email us at [email protected] to be included in this distribution list.

Please consider purchasing a SMCA membership. You can go to sandstonemacewan.com to purchase your membership online or email Carolyn Gomez at [email protected].

Sue Coatham

President SMCA

[email protected]