Urgent: Participatory Budgeting for District 5
Urgent: Participatory Budgeting for District 5:
Good day, Crusader families.
We are looking for your support! The Dartmouth Crusaders Swim Club has been invited to participate in HRM’s 2024 Participatory Budget process for District 5.
Each Council district in HRM has a $94,000 a year capital fund. District funds are managed by the area Councillor and can be spent on municipal projects or awarded to non-profit groups (like us) seeking capital funding. Eligible community groups set up science fair style and then residents circulate to check out the projects and decide which ones to vote for. Everyone who lives in District 5, including kids, is eligible to vote.
Competitive swimming has been steadily growing their para programming within the country. Last week, the Swimming Olympic and Paralympic trials occurred for Canadian team selection. Canada had many para-athletes compete for spots on the Paris team and as a result we are sending 20 Paralympic athletes to compete this summer. Unfortunately, Nova Scotia only had one Para athlete representing the province, and we are one of only 3 provinces not sending a Paralympic swimmer.
The Crusaders has begun planning to correct for that shortfall and expand accessibility to our membership and the wider community by creating competitive opportunities for existing para swimmers and for individuals who are interested in trying the sport.
We have several ways in which we are approaching this, including purchasing equipment that will help our para-athletes during training. This equipment includes a water-proof speaker, iPad, and digital pace clock. We have identified this equipment to help with the delivery of workouts for different learning styles, help with visual and auditory impairment as well as positively impact the training experience for our broader membership base.
Councillor Austin’s District 5 participatory budgeting event is on Thursday May 30th at the Mic Mac Aquatic Club, 192 Prince Albert Road. This is where we need your support - The voting will take place from 6pm -8pm and the votes will be tallied on site at 8pm.
With your support (and vote!) we have an excellent opportunity to receive funding for new equipment that will benefit all our swimmers. We hope to see you there!
Jody Crowther, President DCSC, president@dartmouthcrusaders.ca