Medicine Hat Kiwanis: Raising funds helps Kiwanis raise the bar

By Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat on April 4, 2026.

The Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat, like all service clubs, needs to raise funds to support its programs and projects. You may remember our club’s Apple Campaign, which was a fundraiser from 1964 until 2010.

Our members went door to door throughout the city to sell bags of apples. And maybe you also remember the Stampede Branding Party, held for years in Woolfrey’s Coulee before Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course was constructed.

A major fundraiser for our club in the past was an annual Grapes and Gourmet Gala Wine Tasting Festival, which was organized in partnership with and sponsored by, Pritchard & Company LLP, from 2004 to 2019, and which benefitted many organizations in Medicine Hat, such as the Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Bridges Family Programs and the Alzheimer Society, to name a few.

Since 2003, our members have worked, and continue to work, a monthly bingo at Top Hat Bingo and we also work a Casino at Copper Coulee Casino every 18 months.

These two fundraising activities provide funds to support our many projects; however, Alberta Gaming has restrictions on how these “gaming funds” can be used and it is getting harder for the club to organize fundraisers that are not considered gaming funds.

Our newest fundraiser, an annual Stampede Cash Prize Raffle, began in 2024, when we were notified that there was an opportunity for our club to become involved.

The Stampede Board only allows a set number of organizations to participate and we were invited because one of the organizations that had previously been involved, had withdrawn. Our club saw this as an opportunity to generate a significant amount of funds, most of which would be donated to the Southeast Alberta Regional Science Fair, which is an accepted use of gaming proceeds.

So from mid April until the end of the Stampede, our club will be selling tickets around town. Look for us on weekends at locations such as Canadian Tire and grocery stores. We will also be selling tickets at the Spectrum Festival in June and at Canada Day in Kin Coulee Park.

The tickets are one for $5, three for $10 or 10 for $20. One lucky individual will be awarded the cash prize of $10,000.00, which is drawn at midnight on the last night of the Stampede, Saturday, 25 July 2026.

The profit realized from the Stampede Raffle has supported youth programs in Medicine Hat, such as the Science Fair, Army Cadets, a local U16 volleyball team, Diabetes D Camp and a junior track meet, to name but a few.

Club president Perry Bergum would like to thank all our members who consistently work bingos each month, all of the members who work our casinos, our members who encouraged us to participate in the Stampede Raffle and who organized schedules and attended to sell tickets, and of course, all our members and other volunteers who assisted with these ticket sales.

The commitment we receive from our members, friends and other volunteers to assist us with fundraising is so very much appreciated!

And our entire club would like to thank our supporters who purchased tickets, knowing that if they didn’t win the $10,000 prize, the money raised would go to a good cause.

The Kiwanis Club of Medicine Hat provides opportunities for our members to volunteer in the community on projects that benefit youth and improve the community. We can be contacted at medicinehatkiwanis@gmail.com

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