EOL staff will soon be cooking on a new range!
By Joan Janzen
EATONIA - The staff at Eatonia Oasis Living (EOL) are waiting in anticipation for a new cooking range to replace their current 33-year-old model. “I have taken it on as a personal challenge to raise funds for this project,” Sharon Butt said, after helping out in the EOL kitchen. “Right now they don’t have a grill and there’s only one oven that’s working.”
Lisa at Eatonia Oasis Living has been making do using this 33-year-old range, but it will soon be replaced by a new unit, thanks to the generosity of Eatonia and surrounding communities. SUBMITTED
Sharon is working closely with EOL as she spearheads the EOL Kitchen Fundraising Effort. The final quote for the new stove with two large ovens and a small grill area plus installation came in at $16,000, and funds have also been coming in to meet the need.
Sharon said funds are coming from service clubs, individuals and businesses in Eatonia, Leader, Mantario, Kindersley and surrounding area. “It’s going really well. This community really comes together,” she boasted.
The generosity received from surrounding communities is warranted, since EOL has impacted the lives of seniors from a large area ever since it opened in 1998. At that time Eatonia took over the hospital facility as a non profit organization, and inherited the range.
Sharon had worked at EOL years ago in many departments including the kitchen. “Upon returning, I saw the same old gas range is still there and in very rough shape. It has served its time and is beyond repair, although the staff are managing,” she advised.
The staff is managing to feed twenty-four residents, making seventy-five meals a day, but they need something that will make their job easier and more efficient.
If anyone would like to support this very worthy cause, you can do so by donating to EOL, specifying that it is to go to the “EOL Kitchen Fundraising Effort”. All donations, regardless of amount will receive a tax receipt.
“It’s incredible how people support us. We’re very lucky we live here,” Sharon said. Thanks to the generosity of Eatonia and surrounding communities, she’s hoping to order the new range by the end of February. Upon its arrival the staff at EOL will be happy to move the old range out to make room for the new one.