Kim Desrochers and the rest of the Notre Dame de Lourdes community are trying to renovate an arena that was built 49 years ago.

The Notre Dame Arena needs a $1.2 million upgrade to restore the rink roof, exterior tin, exterior doors, and beautify it to modern standards.

Desrochers is the president of the Notre Dame Recreation District Board and says they started fundraising efforts last fall, raising $355,000, which she notes is mainly from local donations.

"We're ready for the grant process. We have everything ready to submit for grants, but we're waiting for details to be released from the province since we had a change in premier and government."

While waiting on grants, the board is hopeful it can win $25,000 from the BASF Canada Agricultural Solutions Growing Home initiative, which is giving away the funds to one group in Manitoba.

Manitobans have three options: Inglis and District Community Club, St. Jean Baptiste Volunteer Fire Department, and the Notre Dame Recreation District Board.

Inglis and District Community Club   

  • Inglis is a small farming community in the Parkland region of Manitoba known for our row of five grain elevators, a national historic site and Asessippi Ski Hill. The Inglis & District Community Club is a volunteer-run organization responsible for the operation and upkeep of two very important buildings in our community, the skating rink and hall. Having these facilities encourages people to stay local, and in turn helps bring revenue to our town, keeps our school attendance high and truly maintains that “Friendly Manitoba” spirit! Like many small towns, these spaces are the backbone of our community and are in need of some extra love, care and money to keep them viable for years to come. Winning BASF’s Growing Home Contest would help us with multiple projects including a new furnace for the rink, re-shingling the rink, re-insulating the hall and other small projects.

Notre Dame Recreation District Board   

  • The Notre Dame Arena is the “HUB” of our small agriculture community. For almost 50 years, family and friends have gathered to enjoy fitness and socializing at the arena. Our aging facility has gone through many upgrades in recent years like the installation of a new ice plant, ice surface boards/glass, floor piping, concrete, renovating viewing area, washrooms, kitchen and dressing rooms. Now, for an even larger project: it is time to replace the roof, exterior tin, doors, install stand heat and upgrade the ventilation system. The community has raised over $350,000 towards the $1,200,000 project through local support. Please join in our vision to keep our arena viable.

St. Jean Baptiste Volunteer Fire Department  

  • We are the St. Jean Fire Department: a volunteer-based fire department dedicated to protecting our community and surrounding area in times of need. We are also very active in our community, volunteering at numerous events including the Annual St. Jean ATV Derby, one of the largest organized off-road rallies in Canada. We are currently confronted with the pressing challenge of replacing our self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), which will no longer be certified as the manufacturer has abruptly discontinued the sales and service of their SCBA lineup. With little notice, we must now come up with the funds to replace them within a very limited amount of time. Your vote would help ensure we can replace our SCBAs and continue our ability to respond effectively to fires and emergencies, ready to answer the call when it matters most.

You can follow along on Instagram and X and keep an eye on the #BASFGrowingHome hashtag to help nominators and finalists raise support for their local organizations.

Desrochers hopes you pick Notre Dame and says winning this money would be fantastic, as no matching funds need to be provided by the board. 

"With most government grants, you have to have matching money to get them," she continues. "We just want to keep this hub of our community going and make it the best facility it can be for our community and surrounding area."

Desrochers says that phase 1 of the project will be fixing the roof and exterior tin, as when the arena was built in 1975, it had a 10R rating for installation.

"It probably should be like an R rating of 30 or 40 or something like that." 

file photoNotre Dame Arena. (Photo Credit: Ariane Elizabeth Photography on Facebook.)

The president notes that the group is hopeful to start the first phase of our project in the summer of 2025 

"We have to do it in that May, June, July, and August timeframe so that we can already have our ice back into September for our hockey season."

You can vote for the Notre Dame Recreation District Board and their mission to fix up their arena HERE. Voting ends April 15.