STURGIS — For 30 years, the SPE Family Resource Centre has served the communities of Preeceville, Sturgis and Endeavour. Over the last three decades, the SPE FamiResource Centre Board and the Coordinator have offered multiple events and programs in several communities that are served by the Centre, supporting literacy, nutrition, learning skills, and development for young children, as well as supporting people of many ages in the communities to access help and resources available to them.
The SPE Family Resource Centre has been strengthened by the work and commitment of long-term employees. At the end of March 2026, the centre’s third long-term employee, Karolyn Kosheluk, completed her employment with the SPE Family Resource Centre.
The Board of the Family Resource Centre is currently looking for a new coordinator to continue the valuable programs provided by the centre.
The beginning of the Family Resource Centre began to be envisioned in 1994 through a provincial initiative which established a local Child Action Plan Committee for the Canora, Sturgis, Preeceville and Endeavour areas. Service Agency representatives and a few community volunteers formed the committee.
The new Child Action Plan Committee made its first goal the establishment of a Family Resource Centre. Originally, there was a desire to establish two centres; one to serve Canora and the area, and one to serve the Sturgis, Preeceville, Endeavour area. Since grant money was limited, the committee decided to focus on only one centre, which would serve the communities of Sturgis, Preeceville and Endeavour.
The opening of the Family Resource Centre with an office for the Family Resource Centre Coordinator was established in September of 1995. The office was located in the Public Library in Sturgis. The first long-term employee, Craig Folk, began in January of 1996.
The task of the Family Resource Centre coordinator was to go into the three communities being served and be a resource for those looking for support or programs. The coordinator was to be a “listener” to the needs of the communities and then draw together organizations, community volunteers and supporters and secure funding to establish programs that might meet the local needs. Since funding was only available for the cost of the Family Resource Centre coordinator position; the coordinator was required to be “creative” in finding funding for programs including applying for grants. The Health Region administered the salary and benefits and provided for cost of the office equipment and the “liability and other insurance needs”.
The Family Resource Centre coordinator was guided by the Vision Statement created by the Child Action Plan Committee. The Vision Statement said “Our Vision: “A community that responds to the needs of children, youth and families; works together to ensure that there are adequate resources; is aware of the resources and is able to access these resources”.
The second long-term employee was Chris Chabot hired in 2002 after Craig Folk left the position. The funding for the position came from the Province’s Program and Support Grant plus the Assiniboine Health District which later became the Sunrise Health Region. Support for programming and later for the position itself came from other grants but also from the municipal bodies of Sturgis, Preeceville, Endeavour and the RM of Preeceville, plus service groups, churches and individuals within the area.
With the cancellation of the Province’s Program and Support Grant in 2010, the Sunrise Health Region reduced the position to half-time. The Sturgis/Preeceville/Endeavour Child Action Plan Committee sought local funding to hire a Family Resource Centre Assistant from its own sources to help fill the loss of half-time work.
In 2013, Chris Fisher (nee Chabot) took a leave of absence and Karolyn Kosheluk was hired as a Temporary Family Resource Centre Coordinator by the Sturgis/Preeceville/Endeavour Child Action Plan Committee.
The Child Action Plan Committee established the non-profit corporation SPE Family Resource Centre Inc, acting as its board. The incorporation allowed access to grants for a variety of programs being done in the area.
The Sunrise Health Region decided to no longer hire the Family Resource Centre coordinator as a unionized position and employee of the Health Region. Instead, they entered into a contract which provided a grant to the SPE Family Resource Centre Board to hire and operate the program.
Chris Fisher resigned as the Family Resource Centre coordinator in December of 2014 in order to take another position within the Health Region.
Karolyn Kosheluk became the new Family Resource Centre coordinator in 2015, a half time position.
Over the past 30 years, a variety of programs have been offered to the area. Some were independently operated through the local SPE Family Resource Centre Coordinator and others were in cooperation with other Agencies that serve the needs of youth, children and families in our East Central Region.
Some programs have involved: a Summer Fun Program held each summer in Preeceville, Sturgis and also in Endeavour when the Public School was still operating. There have been programs to promote awareness of various issues for youth, parental guidance in caring for children, Car Seat Safety programs, Youth Rallies in cooperation with other agencies for teens using the School building as a location.
Many people accessed the Family Resource Coordinator in finding help with everything from medical assistance for children, to mental health contacts, seniors grants for housing, awareness of other programs and services offered by the province or other agencies.
There were promotions of “family time” through contests placed in newspapers and at local stores. There have been Literacy development programs doing presentations or events as part of wider community events, including giving away new, age appropriate books from First Books Canada.
The Family Resource Centre was part of the initial organizing of “Breakfast” or lunch programs in the Preeceville and Sturgis Composite Schools.
The Family Resource Centre was also part of the initiative that helped establish the 123 Day Care located in Sturgis. In later years, new Centres for “Drop in and Play” have been established in Sturgis and Preeceville, providing an ongoing physical location that provides a secure space to leave furnishings, toys, etc out for a given program.
In recent years, a program called “Drop in and Play” was created for young children to develop social skills as well as literacy skills. The program has been offered in Sturgis and Preeceville. Other programs, amongst many, include “Family Yoga”. “Sneaky Chefs” cooking program, “Emergency Safety Book”, distribution, Triple P Parenting Classes, IMPACT, which involved many other service agencies, were offered in both schools. Support for the Nutritional Food Programs in the Schools has been offered over the years, including accessing the grants needed to fund those programs.
An essential part of the Family Resource Centre coordinator’s work has been accessing grants to operate the Family Resource Centre and its various programs, as well as coordinating ongoing and “one-time” events with other service agencies, community groups and schools.
As the SPE Family Resource Centre marks 30 years of service, it stands as a powerful example of what can be accomplished when communities work together with care, creativity, and commitment. The centre has remained grounded in its mission to respond to the evolving needs of children, youth, and families and its impact is reflected not only in the programs it has delivered, but in the relationships it has built, the barriers it has helped remove, and the countless individuals it has supported along the way.
As the Centre looks ahead to a new chapter with the search for a coordinator, it does so with a strong foundation and a clear purpose. The needs of the community continue, as does the opportunity to listen, connect, and respond in meaningful ways.
