A community group in Grunthal is raising money and support as they work to sponsor a refugee family in the community.

Alison Driedger is one of the founding members of the group. She says they were inspired by the work that Kleefeld and Altona have done to sponsor refugees as individual communities. She notes there are over 19 million refugees around the world and Grunthal would like to help where they can.

"What was striking for me was this realization that I am safe there are millions of people out there who aren't. I have been fortunate enough to work with a like-minded group of Grunthal citizens and we have formed a community group where we want the entire community to be involved in this initiative."

Driedger says over the weekend they held two fundraiser concerts called Grunthal Goes Gospel at the Elim Chuch in support of the refugee project. She notes both Friday and Saturday evening were big successes with 130 people in attendance for both shows. She notes a variety of local church groups and artists performed in the show and information about the refugee sponsorship was presented.

"Garry Martens was part of sponsoring the Kleefeld refugee family and he was out and spoke about how it really united the community together. That is what this whole night was about, that is what a lot of people commented on is how nice it was to watch everybody come out together and be a part of it and hopefully work together towards the end goal."

Driedger welcomes anyone who is interested in supporting the Grunthal refugee sponsorship initiative. She notes the refugee crisis around the world is only getting worse and they hope to be a continual source of help.

"We really want to mirror the Altona model where they have a group that has been active in bringing in refugee families on a steady basis, and that is our goal to get the first refugee family there and then keep on going."