The Mainprize documentary has received a lot of support but still needs more to be completed.
Since the beginning of the fundraising campaign, the team of dedicated volunteers 鈥� who for years has been pushing it forward trying to save the heritage of Dr. William Mainprize, also known in the area as Doc, for future generations 鈥� received several bigger and smaller donations. A GoFundMe page attracted over $4,000 in donations, and there have been a number of other exciting developments.
The RM of Cymri donated $25,000 to the documentary and the Mainprize executive added Joe Vilcu, the Reeve of RM of Cymri, to the executive committee, bringing the total to six. Vilcu will be one of four volunteer members on the Mainprize fundraising subcommittee.
The committee also received an anonymous one-time donation of $25,000 and another $10,000 in donations and pledges.
Since November 2020, the executive has raised about $65,000, but they are still far from the $295,000 goal, needed to produce a full-length high-quality documentary, which would be featured in movie theatres and during festivals in Canada and abroad.
Graham Baker, one of Dr. Mainprize鈥檚 鈥渂abies鈥� and the Mainprize executive member, was asked about his involvement and the campaign progress.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenge. It鈥檚 been set out for this project to produce a life-long, high-end production that gives suitable tribute to one of the most fantastic individuals that has ever lived and served in Saskatchewan,鈥� Baker said.
Baker explained that not only did he get involved because he was one of those many people who were delivered by Mainprize, but he also felt that keeping Mainprize鈥檚 story to only those who knew him would be like a crime.
鈥淚t鈥檚 in the nature of Saskatchewan people, we are pretty humble people 鈥� but we have produced some amazing individuals in the province 鈥� I鈥檓 one of the Doc鈥檚 babies, I was born and raised in Midale. When I started to understand the story and got into it more, (I realized that) it鈥檚 a truly amazing story. He was a guy that dedicated his life to make everyone鈥檚 lives better. And the last thing that Doc would want is recognition for that. But the reality is the contribution that he鈥檚 made to the social and economic impact of this province is absolutely amazing. And we thought that it would be a terrible waste if the story remained untold,鈥� Baker said.
There aren鈥檛 many pieces left telling a story of this very talented doctor with an engineer mind, who chose to stay in a small community to make it better for hardworking people growing the newly-established province. For Baker, it was important to join the Mainprize documentary project at its early stages, and to contribute to preserving the memory of that great individual.
鈥淚f we can get this thing off the ground and running, it will be a life-long tribute that other generations can go back and view as well.鈥�
Graham, who鈥檚 been in the advertising world for about 35 years, said the projected budget is a high-end number, but 鈥渋t reflects the seriousness of the group.鈥�
The ongoing pandemic and the decline in the economy have made it even more difficult for the executive committee to raise money for this cultural piece. Some major corporate players that were supporting the project before, are now struggling to stay above water because of the new realities and can鈥檛 help.
There are also no government funds available. However, the understanding of the value of the project keeps the group going, and their hopes up for completing it one way or the other.
The executive lately has been working with community leaders trying to bring them on board.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all starting to come into play, and the time will tell if it was successful, but I think it will have a positive impact,鈥� Baker said.
He added that if the executive won鈥檛 raise the needed amount of money, they will have to sacrifice some parts of the documentary. Most shooting has been completed and there is no shortage of material. Now the money is needed to complete the production part of the project.
Currently, the fundraising subcommittee is working on final preparations to target prospective private donors through their fundraising letter campaign.
If anyone is interested in becoming a part of the project and supporting it they can go to the project鈥檚 website at www.mainprizeproject.ca.
