Our Story
Well, let’s go back to the beginning—the year 1922—the world was in a depression and the young men of Weyburn, as elsewhere, were feeling the loss of companionships gained from the First World War. A group of young men decided to do something about it and several coffee cup discussions a call was sent out by Don Mitchell to the young men of the city to meet in the city hall on May 18,1922. from this meeting was born “The Young Fellows Club of Weyburn” with the Aims: To promote the spirit of fraternalism among its members; To develop its members for better citizenship and to contribute in any way which it deemed advisable to public welfare: Choosing constitutionally the admirable motto “WE SERVE”
Just to give you a little history of the Young Fellows Club of Weyburn and our involvement in the community of Weyburn. The Young Fellows were established 90 years ago for the simple purpose of making Weyburn a better place to live in. We have donated money and time to just about every major project that has happened in Weyburn over the last 90 years. There have been so many projects that we donated money over the years, too many to list but we would like to highlight a few. The Young Fellows built the first outdoor pool in Saskatchewan in 1931, which many members personally had to support the project by guaranteeing loans to complete the project. We have also donated money to every minor sports program that has been in Weyburn over the years, money has been donated to our health care system, emergency rescue vehicles for the fire dept, playground equipment, swimming lessons for every child in Weyburn, we were involved when the indoor pool was built as well as the second ice surface. And our most recent project, which we are quite proud of, is the new splash park that is located at the Don Mitchell tot lot. That project alone cost $150,000 to build; overall since the inception of the Young Fellows club of Weyburn, we have donated over $1.8 million dollars back to the community of Weyburn.
We raise our money that supports these projects through several fundraisers held annually every year. These projects include our annual auction which we just had the 55th anniversary of, we sell Christmas trees, we hold a weekly bingo on Access Communications, our harvest fling, million dollar hole in one competition, we do a pit roast for the oil show as well for the Graduating class from the comprehensive, and also have a comedy night for small businesses to hold their staff Christmas parties. Many of these projects have run successful over many years while some of our projects are only a few years old. Last year these projects raised close to $85,000 for the club to donate and we are very proud to say that every dollar raised from these projects goes back into the community.
“FELLOWSHIP” is an important part of the Young Fellows Club of Weyburn. It is one of the reasons this Club was founded over 95 years ago. To bring together young men within the city, and create an organization to serve the community, and have fun in the process. The foundation upon which this club has been built is based on the premise that we can make a difference—a difference in our community and the lives of those around us; that we, as a group, can help build a better society in which to live and grow. But also, and just as important, this Club has a historical obligation to work to create better men of its members; better citizens, better public speakers, better and more willing “Activists”. Activists willing to take up causes and concerns within the community, not just for self interest, but for the betterment of all.
Over the years we have evolved into the Young Fellows Club of today. It is not the same Club as it was 95 years ago-by choice and of necessity. But the ideals that prompted our founding are still every bit alive and real today. And in some ways – within our community and ourselves, needed even more than in the past.