On Aug. 31, Special Olympics Creston held its annual barbecue and registration for athletes at Centennial Park.
Overwaitea Foods generously donated all of the buns and condiments for the hamburgers and hotdogs, and Famous Fritz donated the delicious hamburgers and uberdogs. A birthday cake was served in honour of one longtime executive member Shelagh Schmidt, who has worked with Special Olympics for over 30 years.
Along with the evening the Special Olympics fundraising draw took place with Jennifer Chambers drawing the winning tickets for first, second and third place. Chambers is a wonderful quilter and graciously donated a king-size quilt to Special Olympics for a fundraiser to help send four of Creston athletes to the nationals in Newfoundland in 2016, as well as other expenses.
Peggy Skelton won the quilt (first) prize, with Joe Schlapsi winning second prize (hockey stick autographed by the Vancouver Canucks’ Daniel Sedin) and Corinne and Claire Lemaire winning third (hemp rucksack donated by Evergreen store).
“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt,” says the Special Olympics oath.
Fundraising with raffle ticket draws and the annual bottle drive are Creston Special Olympics’ main source of income. It does apply for any grants that are available each year, and will always be eager to accept donations from anyone who cares to donate both their dollars and their time in helping out with many ongoing programs. Any and all donations are greatly accepted and appreciated.
There are a lot of expenses that come along with 10 different sports that athletes can join up for and participate in. These sports include bowling, (presently Creston’s largest event), floor hockey (in which four athletes will participate at the nationals), swimming, bocce, golf, rhythmic gymnastics, curling, T-ball, power lifting and fundamentals. Some of the expenses include purchasing of sports equipment for all of the different programs, facility rental where athletes practice and program registration costs, as well as expenses in travel throughout the year for competitions and lodging.
This year on Sept. 12, Special Olympics Creston will be having its annual bottle drive. Extra Foods generously donated 1,750 bags to use in the collection of bottles. Along with these bags, athletes, staff and executive members have printed, rolled and delivered fliers to 12 different areas in Creston. Thank you to all of our hard workers and also to the seniors from Crest View Village wanting to help out and support.
If you haven't received a flier at your door by Sept. 12, but would like to donate, call 250-402-3008. Special Olympics also has an account set up at Columbia Bottle Recycling where bottles and cans can be donated throughout the year. The bottle drive will be starting at 8:30 a.m., and the collection of bottles and cans will run until 1 p.m.
Creston Special Olympics extends its appreciation in advance for the upcoming donations. Without the community’s help, Special Olympics Creston would not be able to continue.
—SPECIAL OLYMPICS CRESTON
