Creative Kids Champion Pledges Continuous Support

Rose Gilks, longtime chief executive officer, Creative Kids and SaskCulture, will retire from her position this year- but has no intention of lessening her commitments to, and support of, Creative Kids.

Gilks was instrumental in the creation of Creative Kids. From a membership summit held in 2006 that gave the direction for SaskCulture to look into the possibility of having a program such as Creative Kids, to David Millar – a longtime friend and colleague of Gilks – who had the idea for the program, Rose was instrumental in championing SaskCulture to create the program.

“It’s been a very interesting venture for SaskCulture to start this program,” says Gilks. “After retirement, I will still be a supporter of Creative Kids because the program is important and I think it is something that can truly benefit young people in Saskatchewan. I see it as something worth contributing to in the future.”

Looking back, Gilks says there are a number of accomplishments over the years that she is proud of during her tenure with SaskCulture, one of which is the impact Creative Kids is making in the lives of children in the province. However, with the high demand for the program, she hopes that more communities across the province, as well as sponsors and individual donors, will increase their support for Creative Kids.

After retirement, I will still be a supporter of Creative Kids because the program is important and I think it is something that can truly benefit young people in Saskatchewan.

“The challenge is that the need is so great,” she says. “The impact of a program like Creative Kids is that there will be a lot more healthy and happy young people who go on to do better in their lives and careers. They (the children) may not all become singers or dancers or actors but the skills that they learn will help them be more well-rounded and socially engaged citizens.”

Gilks goes on to say that creative and cultural activities help people gain a sense of who they are, help people learn how to think outside the box and are a great means to enable a young person to express themselves.

“Not every child out there is comfortable participating in sports. Some children that may have difficulty in sports, or have difficulty feeling accepted, find creative and cultural activities as a great way to express themselves. Whether it’s writing, dance or theatre, it helps them deal with life’s challenges,” she says. “Nowadays some MBA programs are teaching classes on creativity; if we just had more creative opportunities for our youth, we wouldn’t need those classes.”