A message from the Squadron Sponsoring Committee

Hello All and Welcome to the 2021-2022 Cadet Training Season! (In-Person Part 2!)

On behalf of the Squadron Sponsoring Committee (Parent Committee), welcome back to our returning Cadets and families and welcome to out new Cadets and families as well.  With the challenges of the past two years and a program that has been mostly virtual, it has been difficult to come together as a cadet family, and there is some important information to share..

As you may know, the Air Cadet program is made possible through a partnership between the Department of National Defence, the Air Cadet League of Canada and our local SSC Parent Committee.

The DND and the Air Cadet League supply the Command Staff (Captain Bowman and his staff), the uniforms for the cadets, summer training at CTCs and National/International courses, and some of the training supplies used by the cadets. 

The balance of the funding for the program, the building costs and upkeep, field trips (such as to the Hamilton Warplane Museum), sports night activities, and training weekend activities, are all supplied by the Squadron Sponsoring Committee.

As such, the SSC plays a large role in the Squadron and a strong SSC leads to a strong program.  As parents of Cadets, we are all members of the SSC.  The involvement of the parents leads directly to the quality of the program we are able to provide the Cadets.  There are four official elected positions for the SSC: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer.  There are also several other positions including Grounds and Maintenance and Fundraising Chair.  However, you are not required to hold an official position to be a part of the SSC.  The more parents, and volunteers, who help with the SSC, the better the program can be.  Many hands make light work, as the saying goes.

As the SSC is responsible for much of the day-to-day funding of the Cadet activities, fundraising is always an important part of the work we do.  We have several fundraisers we run which have been successful in the past.  The “Big Red Meat” (or “Bacon Run”) and the “Carmicheal’s Meats” (or “Pepperoni Run”) have been very successful in the past, and truly kept the SSC funded throughout the shutdowns.  The SSC is always looking for additional fundraising ideas, so please bring forward your ideas.

In a normal year, Tagging, where the Cadets stand at store fronts through out Welland collecting donations, has traditionally been our largest single source of funds, representing half of our budget, but has not been possible during COVID-19.  We are now set up with CanadaHelps, an online charity collections website, so we may be able to run a “virtual tagging” campaign in the future.

Yearly Assessment

For the Air Cadet League, they charge each squadron an assessment fee of $65 per cadet per training year.  The assessment fee is payable by the SSC to the League and is used by the League to fund their activities in the program.  Although, no young person will ever be turned away or denied entry into the Cadet Program for financial reasons, we are requesting each cadet pay the amount below to help the Squadron Sponsoring Committee offset the Assessment Fee:

OPC Cadet Assessment Fee                   $65.00 / Cadet

Multiple Cadet Families (2 or more)       $60.00 / Cadet

For those who have paid the assessment fee, thank you!  For those still looking to do so, payment of the Assessment fee can be made by cash or cheque to the SSC Treasurer, Owen Gifford, or can be made through Direct E-Transfer to the email treasurer@87eagle.ca .  The Treasurer email is set up for direct deposit, so no security question is needed, and please add the Cadet(s) name in the comment section.  Any questions on payments, please contact the SSC Treasurer, Owen Gifford, at the above email or by mobile at 905-394-9191.

Ontario Provincial Committee Lottery

Every year, each Squadron is tasked with selling a specified allotment of Lottery tickets to support the gliding program (insurance and maintenance of the glider fleet) at the provincial level.  Last year, and continuing for 2022, the Lottery tickets will be sold online.  Payment for the OPC Lottery Tickets will be completed directly online.  A portion of the Lottery funds raised are returned to our Squadron, as long as we sell our ticket allotment of 300 tickets, or approximately 10 tickets/cadet.  The Lottery began on March 1, 2022 and runs until April 29, 2022, with an early bird draw on April 1.  As above, the tickets are purchased directly online by going to the website:   https://aircadetlotto.5050central.com/?olc=87

I will be providing weekly updates too on training nights, of our ticket sales as we work towards our goal of 300 tickets.  So, tell your friends, tell your family, share the info on social media and I’m sure we will reach our goal.

And finally, we want to thank you for choosing the Air Cadet Program.  The Welland Air Cadets, 87 Eagle Squadron has a long history.  Beginning as one of the first Air Cadet Squadrons formed in 1942, the Welland Air Cadets have been in continuous operation since that time.  For 80 years, thousands of young people have learned valuable skills in leadership, self-discipline, citizenship, as well as participated in summer training events, FTX activities, and in the gliding program.  87 Eagle Squadron, thanks to a partnership with the Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport, is also one of the few Air Cadet Squadrons in all of Canada, to be located at a functional airport, the same airport where we were founded in 1941.

More information about the Welland Air Cadets is available on our website, www.87eagle.ca , where you can find recent announcements, cadet portal and “Teams” information, and you can join our email list to receive timely information and weekly updates about 87 Eagle Squadron activities. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Commanding Officer, Captain Bowman, or to any member of the SSC executive committee.

Thank you,

Rob Foster	Jodi Kelder	Natalie Foster	Owen Gifford
SSC Chair	SSC Vice Chair	SSC Secretary	SSC Treasurer
ssc@87eagle.ca			treasurer@87eagle.ca