Best known as a dedicated group of strong women who strive to make a change and improve the community, the Cochrane Activettes take home first place in the 2023 Cochrane Eagle Readers’ Choice awards in the “Charitable Organization” category.
Marcia Gilbertson, the past president of the Cochrane Activettes, said it is an honour for the organization to receive the award.
“We have received the award many times in the past, and we don’t take it lightly,” Gilbertson said. “We do appreciate the fact that people nominate us and know what we do in the community.”
With many responsibilities in town, Gilbertson explained that the Activettes is a service club that is part of many endeavours.
“We’re celebrating our 45th anniversary this year, so we’ve been in Cochrane for a long time, and we’ve grown in numbers and the amount of activities we do,” she said. “We’re probably best known for the food bank, so the Activettes own and operate the food bank in town.
“It’s grown in need and size over the last several years, so we’re pleased that we can keep up with the demand and will continue to do so.”
Another venture owned by the Activettes includes The Clothesline, a not-for-profit clothing shop in town that gives back to the community.
“Not only does it give people an opportunity to shop at good prices, but the profits from The Clothesline are turned over and we use them in community projects within the town,” Gilbertson said.
Another project in the works is the “Share Your Christmas” Program that aims to provide food and toy hampers for families in Cochrane over the holiday season.
“We’ll be gearing up in the middle of November for distribution of those in the middle of December,” she said.
Moving forward, Gilbertson said the Activettes will continue their operations and ensure that they will provide the same level of service to the community.
“We hope to continue in the same way, but we couldn’t do it without the great support of everybody in Cochrane,” she said. “We work on the donation platform, so we have always had very generous donations from local businesses and people, not only in monetary donations, but in food donations to the food bank.”
Gilbertson added that with a great team of volunteers and members, it’s all a group effort.
“I don’t think I can single anybody out,” Gilbertson said. “We have a great group of members and volunteers that do help us out, so I could give a shoutout to them.
“Not only do we need money to operate, but we need people to operate.”
