A sold-out banquet Thursday and an anonymous donation of $50,000 kick-started fundraising efforts for a new additional dining room at Salem Home in Winkler.
    
The 'Building for Tomorrow' event was organized and hosted by the Salem Foundation and Salem Ladies Auxiliary.
    
Arlen Hildebrand, chair of the Salem Foundation said the support of the community already shown for this next project, and the many other projects before this are overwhelming.  "We start a project, and it's $200,000 or $300,000 and it looks like a daunting task and somehow we get that paid and we've got another project going.  It's unbelievable," said Hildebrand.  "We live in a great community."

Money raised at the banquet will support the construction of the new additional dining room for Salem's Cottonwood residence, with an estimated total cost of $375,000.

Hildebrand compared the old Cottonwood dining room like "bumper cars," and this project is another way they can give residents a better living experience.

The hope is to start construction at some point in 2018. 

The foundation works alongside the Salem board, and Hildebrand noted the board is requiring 66 percent of the cost be raised before they get going on construction.  "So roughly $245,000 into it, we're going to shovel some dirt and get this project going."

The evening also featured a special guest speaker.

11 years ago, in the blink of an eye, the life of Pennsylvania resident, Marie Monville changed forever.  On October 2, 2006, Monville's then-husband made a decision to hold an Amish schoolhouse hostage, shooting 10 schoolgirls, five of them fatally.
    
In the years since Monville has written a book and spoke at many public events sharing her story of forgiveness and her decision to trust God through the life-altering journey.
    
Sharing her story for the first time in Canada, Monville gave her testimony at Thursday's banquet.  "There's this whole concept of forgiveness," said Monville.  "It's easy to think forgiveness is about when someone who has wronged me realizes they've done something to hurt me, and they ask me to forgive them." Monville said forgiveness is a much different thing than that.

 

Keynote speaker Marie Monville before her presentation with her book "One Light Still Shines"

Monville said in the days after the tragic event of October 2, 2006, she had to make a deliberate decision to "walk by faith."

Meanwhile, Monville had the opportunity to visit Salem Home while in Winkler and called the personal care home, remarkable, noting the wonderful things Salem Home is doing for their residents.

Marie speaking to the crowd