Chilliwack – On Saturday August 27, a celebration of sobriety and recovery takes place at the Chilliwack Alano Club.
The 40th is in recognition of the current location on Victoria between Nowell and Young.
The Alano Board of Directors will host a pig roast, that is open to the public.
This will be all day event with dinner at 4PM. Dinner is $5 and kids under 7 eat for free.
Also included are kids events and a silent auction.
The actual Chilliwack Alano Club Society is more than 40 years old though.
In 2017, then Board VP Don Lehn made a presentation to Chilliwack Council on the 35th anniversary of the club. Included was a quick history lesson.
This is the excerpt from that speech:
Your Worship, City Council and City Staff
On Saturday August 19 (2017), the Chilliwack Alano Club will celebrate its 35th anniversary.
Located in the heart of downtown Chilliwack, or more notably, “in the hood” of Victoria and Nowell, the Alano Club, a nonprofit organization, keeps the doors open for a clean and sober social environment.
There are a few misconceptions about the Alano Club.
First it is not an extension of any 12 step organization.
We DO rent rooms to 12 Step groups including Alcoholics Anonymous, Alanon, Coda – Co Dependent’s Anonymous as well as anyone wishing to rent the meeting room for a clean and sober function.
NOTE in 2021, Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous started meetings at the Alano.
That has included wedding receptions, memorials, funerals, Easter Egg hunts and the arrival of Santa Claus for the kids. For the record – I was the Santa last Xmas.
It is NOT a detox nor is the Alano Club a recovery centre, a homeless shelter or an extension of Chilliwack Community Services.
We do try to be accommodating to anyone asking for such information and pass them along to those organizations they need to talk to. That includes Social Services, Salvation Army, Ruth and Naomi’s , Kinghaven, Peardonville, Cyrus Centre and Riverstone.
The Alano Club IS A BRIDGE to assist anyone who is searching to find a way to live a clean and sober life.
The genesis of the Alano Club started in 1950’s.
A big shout out to Jennifer Feinberg, the Chilliwack Progress and the Chilliwack Museum and Archives — as they have been a great help in trying to retrieve lost history of the Club.
Through the Progress archives, we were able to find a posting from January 13, 1950.
A number of people in recovery agreed that Chilliwack needed an Alano Club.
That would start at the old Women’s Institute Hall – which was located at Wellington and Stanley. They held bingos that would eventually raise money for a club. Those bingos moved to the armory on Princess.
There are major gaps in archival material from the 50’s through to 1980. That includes the Alano itself — as a few well meaning volunteers cleaned out a few boxes of documents and photos.
Sadly— it was our history that went into recycling. We are asking anyone with any historical info to come forward and help us fill in the blanks.
We are now relying on old timers to fill in the gaps.
As you can appreciate – their memories for dates and times are fading and their numbers are dwindling.
A few meet up every morning for breakfast at the Alano—they sit as what is lovingly called – The Redneck Table.
For the record – a tattered copy of the original non profit document is still in the hands of the Alano.
We do know that around 1980, a lovely lady named Ruth Orwold was instrumental in organizing bingo money and with some cash being set aside for the eventual purchase of a building which is 46035 Victoria Street at Nowell.
Some of the remaining AA old timers recall Ruth as a great promoter of AA and spent countless house of service to the community— either raising bingo money for charities as well as her love for the still suffering alcoholic and addict.
In the Wednesday April 10, 1985 edition of the Progress, there is an article that talked about the Alano Club at three years old and how—and I quote– ” addicts need a support house”.
That rings so true in 2017.
We are no different than any other non profits—trying to help the community with limited cash and resources.
Over the past 7-10 years – the Alano has had to shave off operating hours — because we can’t afford them.
We do not operate the kitchen on Sundays at all – and only open for the early bird and Sunday night AA meetings. (NOTE Sunday openings have returned)
For the record we DO HAVE three people who are paid staff.
They make minimum wage and all three run the kitchen. One full time and two part time and all three have their food safe certification.
As our 35th Anniversary comes closer – it’s sad to say that we cannot do a number of events that used to be par for the course.
We don’t do Easter Egg hunts, sober Grey Cups and Super Bowls and we are trying to make sure we DO HAVE a Xmas party for the kids.
For the record—at last year’s Xmas party—I was the Santa Claus.
We do receive some grants including an annual stipend from the Knight Road Bingo Legacy. That money pays for our kitchen staff for the year.
The Alano Club used to receive monies from estates from those members who have passed. It seems those days are gone as well.
Due to our situation – we do not have charitable status (Revenue Canada) so we can’t issue a tax receipt. As we understand, the fact that we have a kitchen and we charge for coffee and meals, eliminated that option for us. (Correction in 2020,21 that paper work needs to be upgraded for the application to Revenue Canada)
We do have memberships that are available and help with our bottom line.
Our social media presence on Facebook has helped somewhat in getting the word out on our situation.
The Board of Directors along with active members will continue to do what we can to serve the community.
We’re not done. We do realize that — with the current climate, have to do a better job on awareness.
We own that !
We are inviting not only Chilliwack, but the entire Fraser Valley — to join us in celebration.
Feel free to come anytime during the day to take a look at what the Alano does and feel free to check out of the three AA meetings on Saturday.
Those meetings are always open to the public.
We do ask that you respect the anonymity of those in the building and on the building grounds and please refrain from recording a meeting or taking photos.
If you wish—you can always take a photo of me.
I have no problem breaking my personal anonymity for — as my old Ottawa Radio General Manager —- who introduced me to recovery — once said— you might be the rare person that someone meets— that introduces them— or their family— to recovery.
Your Worship, City Council and City Staff, on behalf of the Alano Club Board of Directors, thank you for you past support — and I raise my water bottle – for a toast to many years to come— in service to Chilliwack and the Eastern Fraser Valley.
