Lions donate $45,000 towards new Glenbow playground

The Cochrane Lions Club has made a significant $45,000 donation towards the development of a new playground at the Glenbow School.

Amanda Heninger, chair of the Friends of Glenbow Education Society, says they are thrilled with the donation from the club to help replace its 25-year-old playground that has reached its end-of-life cycle.

"It is amazing!" she says. "We were blown away by their generosity."

Keith Garner, chair of the Cochrane Lions Club's donations committee, says while the club makes donations year-round to many causes, they pick one each year for a donation of this magnitude.

"Anything where kids are involved, we like to donate," says Garner. "We like to make one substantial donation each year, and this is the one. It's the Glenbow School's new playground that should be built over the next few years, and we thought we'd kick them off with a nice major donation."

He says everything the club earns is donated back to the community.

"We earn it through our Cochrane Lions Events Centre, our rodeo, and of course, our campground (operated in partnership with the Cochrane Rotary Club), plus we do catering, picnic table rentals, and more, so we're a busy group."

Heninger says the word is starting to spread about the project.

"It started with donations from Cochrane Homes Treasures and the Cochrane Lions and people are starting to know and hear about it, so we're getting really excited."

They aim to install the new playground, costing as much as $500,000, in September 2025.

After the official cheque presentation shot, Heninger was encouraged to take the cheque for a slide. She jumped at the opportunity.

The donation came during a week set aside by the school to celebrate its 40th birthday.