Community comes together

Photo by Shirley Culpin

Last night, surrounded by over four hundred other local residents, we had the pleasure of witnessing our community coming together to not only enjoy great local musicians but also to support the restoration of St Andrews Lodge.

The Phil Dwyer and Friends concert was hosted by the St. Andrews  Lodge Historical and Cultural Society (SALHACS). This is a completely volunteer run society formed in late 2020 dedicated to the restoration of the Lodge to create a welcoming gathering place that will host various functions and local events.

To date the society has organized itself, secured a lease of the property from the town, formalized the arrangements pertaining to the new external washroom which was requested by and is to be paid for, by the town. The volunteers have made tremendous progress on the cleanup of the property and restoration of the building. The society has achieved Charitable Status from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) which permits them the ability to issue tax receipts for private donations. The CRA designation also makes them eligible for many grant opportunities . So far SALHACS has received about $400,000 in grants and donations, almost all of which is directed to the restoration of the Lodge.

Right from the beginning, the society made a promise to the citizens of Qualicum Beach "that the preservation and restoration of the lodge would not become a burden to the town and its tax paying citizens", a promise they have kept.

SALHAC's progress to date, demonstrates that it is possible to take on a worthy cause without burdening the town tax payers. The key to their success is the leadership strength, breadth of experience and initiative of their board along with a significant dedicated group of volunteers.

SALHAC has a small operational budget of $15,000 which is expected to increase as the Lodge is opened for public use. SALHACS still needs to raise $17,000 for basic furnishings (meeting chairs, kitchen wares) which they will continue to do by various fundraisers while concurrently making pitches to leading civic groups.

As a member of our community and a tax payer I sincerely commend this group for all their efforts on our behalf and their commitment to do this work without relying on municipal handouts. You can find more information about SALHACS on their website at https://www.salhacs.ca

Marie Noel

July14 2025

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