Jason Stockfish | [email protected]
As an eerie glow was cast by dozens of impressively-carved jack-o'-lanterns, hundreds of visitors took in the third annual Pumpkin Path fundraiser on Oct. 28.
Hosted and organized by the Jasper Rotary Club and Jasper鈥檚 Youth Community Helpers (JYCH), the event took place in the multipurpose room at the Jasper Activity Centre, where donations raised an impressively spooky $1,313 for the Child & Youth Participation Fund (CYPF).
The JYCH is a program funded by Alberta Health Services and delivered by Community Outreach Services (COS) to engage youth in helping roles and instruct them on how to be good supports amongst their peers, explained Tor Begg, teen outreach worker with COS, who worked with JYCH and the Rotary Club to make this year鈥檚 event a success.
Around 20 local teens are currently registered in the program.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really good way for them to use their community helpers鈥� training in an actual event, as opposed to the classroom modules,鈥� said Begg of the youth's involvement in the Pumpkin Path fundraiser.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun for them to get the experience of collaborating with some other organizations, and it makes them feel like they鈥檙e a part of something bigger.鈥�
While this was the third year of the Pumpkin Path, an annual fundraiser for the local food bank had been held for years in Jasper under the name, 鈥淭rick or Eat,鈥� where the JYCH went door-to-door around Halloween raising money for the local non-profit.
However, when the pandemic began, knocking on doors was no longer the best approach for raising money and COS鈥檚 Anna DeClercq came up with the idea for the Pumpkin Path.
Typically, the Pumpkin Path takes place at Centennial Park, but due to inclement weather this year, the fundraiser was moved indoors to the Activity Centre.
While the food bank remains in need of local support, they offered to share the wealth, and when the Rotary Club asked the JYCH where they would like the money to go, the teens chose the CYPF.
The CYPF is a stream of the Jasper Community Team Society (JCTS) and is designed to help youth take part in extracurricular activities in their community by removing obstacles preventing their engagement.
鈥淭he idea is that (CYPF) removes small but significant barriers to participation for kids in various activities (such as) swimming lessons, school field trips, joining hockey or the lifeguarding program,鈥� Begg said.
Begg noted that since the pandemic began, there has been a trend in communities of people making that extra effort to watch out for each other.
鈥淚 just love it (and) it鈥檚 cool to see it happening in the teen population too.鈥�
In addition to the JYCH program, COS created an initiative called Rec Room, where youth can socialize while playing games, watching movies, eating and creating together.
Rec Room is held at the Jasper Legion each Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Any Jasperite from Grade 7 to 12 who would like to be involved in the JYCH program or Rec Room can reach out to Tor Begg at [email protected] or 780-852-6543.
