RCMP members raised thousands of dollars through a charity hockey tournament for a couple organizations in Swift Current

Both the Swift Current SPCA and KidSport were presented with cheques of $3,000 on Saturday, following the Annual Provincial Law Enforcement Hockey Tournament in Swift Current on the last weekend of January. Swift Current Rural and Municipal RCMP were involved, as well as RCMP from throughout the province.

Swift Current Rural RCMP Constable Jason Dickie said helping out the animal shelter and KidSport - which helps financially-disadvantaged youth be involved with sports - was an easy decision.

"Everyone knows what the SPCA does, they're an important charity. They do a lot of great work here in the community. It's important to have them here. And obviously they also need to have some funding, so that was one of the reasons why we chose the SPCA. And the KidSport is another great one. Obviously they do some great work as well, so it was an obvious choice for us to choose those two."

Kidsport's Richard Bissonnette accepts the cheque from Cst. Jason Dickie of the Swift Current Rural RCMP (photo courtesy Swift Current Rural RCMP)

Swift Current SCPA Animal Health Tech Kyla Schutzman said things are busy right now, with 38 cats and 10 dogs (the maximum is around 50 and 11, respectively) in the non-profit shelter, which doesn't get government funding. She expects the $3,000 donation to make a significant impact.

"It was totally amazing. There's no way to describe it. We're very thankful for that generous donation, for sure. That's a lot of money that can be used towards the animals. It's food and water for them; it's keeping the building going; that kind of stuff.

"We're all based off of donations, so literally every penny helps just because it's definitely not cheap to run here. You have to think about all of the power bills and the water bills and that kind of stuff. It definitely adds up. It's not cheap for sure."

Next year's tournament will be in Yorkton - it changes locations every year, with a local charity, or local charities, benefitting from a donation.

Next up for the Swift Current SPCA is a February 15 jail-and-bail event.