The Dorcas Ladies of Osoyoos United Church presented Osoyoos Secondary School with a total of $5,000 last week in funds raised by their thrift shop. Of that, $3,000 is going to the Safeteen program and $2,000 to the OSS Drama Club. Pictured here, Dorcas member Elaine Taylor presents a cheque for Safeteen to OSS Principal Mike Safek while Anne Polischuk, manager of the thrift shop, presents a cheque to drama teacher Sarah Gilchrist. The thrift shop in the basement of Osoyoos United Church is extremely popular and all of its proceeds go to worthy causes in the community. This year the focus is on programs for children and teens. (Richard McGuire photo)

The Dorcas Ladies of Osoyoos United Church presented Osoyoos Secondary School with a total of $5,000 last week in funds raised by their thrift shop. Of that, $3,000 is going to the Safeteen program and $2,000 to the OSS Drama Club. Pictured here, Dorcas member Elaine Taylor presents a cheque for Safeteen to OSS Principal Mike Safek while Anne Polischuk, manager of the thrift shop, presents a cheque to drama teacher Sarah Gilchrist. The thrift shop in the basement of Osoyoos United Church is extremely popular and all of its proceeds go to worthy causes in the community. This year the focus is on programs for children and teens. (Richard McGuire photo)

The Dorcas Ladies of Osoyoos United Church are concentrating on children this year as recipients of funds raised by their busy basement thrift shop.

Last Friday, United Church Thrift Shop manager Anne Polischuk and Dorcas member Elaine Taylor brought $5,000 to Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS) – $3,000 for the Safeteen program and $2,000 for the OSS Drama Club.

Polischuk said the Dorcas Ladies have already donated or plan to donate funds for other youth programs, including baseball and golf.

Last week’s contributions for Safeteen and the drama club are the first for the Dorcas Ladies.

The Osoyoos Soroptimists have been a major contributor to Safeteen, but with the Dorcas funding, it will be possible to offer a two-day program for the first time for OSS Grade 10s, said Taylor.

Safeteen is a skill-based violence prevention program that teaches teens how to stand up for themselves without violence.

Through workshops, they learn about the power dynamics behind harassment, bullying and assault.

The United Church Thrift Shop is run by 38 dedicated volunteers and all proceeds are donated to community organizations for local projects.

“It’s amazing,” said Taylor, who became a Dorcas member last year. “That’s why we want people to keep on donating to the thrift shop. It really does a lot of good work in our community.”

Accepting the donation for the Safeteen program was OSS Principal Mike Safek and for the OSS Drama Club was teacher Sarah Gilchrist.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times