Recreation Opportunities for Children (ROC) Eastman has various fundraisers throughout the next two months, including a book fair, bingo night, and a jail break.  

Their next fundraiser is taking place this weekend. 

They run four book fairs every year, and this is their second one of 2024.  

The book fair runs on Friday from 4-8pm, Saturday from 10-5pm, and Sunday from 1-5pm, and they are selling books for under $5. 

Steph MacLean with ROC Eastman says all of their books are donated, and a lot are donated locally.  

“This is where our donation bin is, but they come from all over the region. We have some puzzles and games as well, and 100 percent of the proceeds go back to ROC Eastman helping kiddos in the region get into recreation.”  

If you have gently-used books you would like to donate, ROC Eastman has a bin at Clearspring Mall, or you can bring them straight to the warehouse during the sale.  

They also take donations of gently-used sports equipment.  

MacLean notes they just finished up two weekends of their community delivery days, which is when they take the equipment that's been donated and distribute it all over the region.  

“We went all the way up to Pine Falls, all the way down to Sprague, and we do everything in between,” she says. “Your donated equipment that was collecting dust, we get to find families that would not be able to access those things without supports." 

The book fair is at their book warehouse at Unit 9, 110 Industrial Road in Steinbach.  

After the book fair, next up is the Eastman Rotary’s jail break fundraiser.  

The Eastman Rotary invited both ROC Eastman and Steinbach Family Resource to be a part of their jail break fundraiser this year.  

On May 22nd, local celebrities will get 'arrested' and ask for bail money. 

“And all that bail money, it gets processed by the Rotary and donated back to ROC and Steinbach Family Resource.”  

The following weekend, on May 26, ROC Eastman is holding a bingo fundraiser.  

MacLean says $20 gets you admission and a 10-pack of bingo cards.  

“We play 10 full rounds, you get six bingo cards on each round and it's lots of fun. $25 winners each round with a round at the end that's $50." 

She says it’s a great event to bring your family to.  

“Minimum age to play is only eight, so you can bring your kids. We don't go too fast, we're not professional bingo callers by any means. It's just a really great family-friendly fundraiser, which was our goal.”  

The bingo fundraiser will be at the Steinbach Curling Club, in the Granite House Lounge upstairs.  

Then on June 1st, ROC Eastman is hosting their golf tournament out at Maplewood Golf course down by St. Pierre.  

MacLean says they had their first golf tournament last year and are excited to do it again.  

“We knew right away, we got to do this again because it was just such a fun event, and we're so pumped. And Maplewood has this beautiful new clubhouse, so we're so excited to be able to utilize that.”  

She says they are also going to hold a 50/50 putting contest.   

“To buy in to putt, you pay about $20, pot goes up and up and up and up, and the winner gets to take home half that pot.”  

This year they have enough women signed up to have prizes for both a men's division and a women's division.  

Registration is open for about another two weeks.  

“And we would love to fill all those spots. We got room for about seven more teams.”  

For those who don't know, ROC Eastman is a registered charity that serves the entire Eastman region.   

“So all the way down to the US border, all the way over to the Ontario border, 75 Highway, and all the way up North. And we have families in every single area of that region.”  

The funds they receive help their staff to travel remotely to families.  

“Because a lot of families can't come to us, so that is one thing that we found really important, is being able to go to the families who need us.”  

She adds that a lot of times the barriers around recreation are funds.   

“Anybody who has a kiddo in recreation knows the cost that comes with that. And so we help families navigate those costs, we help them navigate some of the other barriers like equipment, instruments, transportation, and try and make it as accessible as possible for their kids to enjoy recreation.”  

She says their goal is to start with one stepping stone and create a ripple effect.  

“If kids are happy and enjoying life, parents do. And it becomes a domino effect, the whole family becomes a lot happier, family life becomes better for everybody.”  

This year is ROC Eastman’s 15th anniversary.  

“ROC was established 2009, and in 15 years, we've gone from a staff of one to a team of eight. And we're going all over the region. It's so exciting.” 

 

With files from Dave Anthony

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