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Race for Kids promises community impact and a lot of fun

Jun 1, 2016 | 10:00 AM

Battlefords residents will have an opportunity support a community organization, and hopefully enjoy themselves at the same time. The Battlefords Boys and Girls Club is holding their second annual Capital One Race for Kids, Saturday.

The race will have teams competing in what the club’s executive director Nicole Combres said is a combination of The Amazing Race and Minute to Win It style competitions. She said details are top-secret, but teams will get clues about ten locations around the community and when they find each location they’ll have to complete a challenge before moving on to the next.

“Not only is Saturday just about coming out and having a lot of fun, it’s about helping make a difference for the children in our community, so it’s helping raise some money so that we can continue to provide quality programming to the community,” she said.

Combres said they have 12 teams so far, a few of which competed last year, but registration is open until the day of the event. Registration for a team of four is $40, and to be eligible for prizes the team needs to fundraise at least $360 before Friday night.

Combres said she wants the community to know the kind of impact the club has on children and youth in town. In 2015, they had an impact on more than 550 kids, including serving 14,000 snacks and 1,900 meals.

“But we can’t do that without the community’s help,” she said. “We offer a variety of programming both physical, you know sports and activities, as well as some mental health programming, and we offer that all free of charge for our members.”

She said many of the families they serve wouldn’t be able to afford enrolling their child in activities like hockey or dance lessons without the club. She said it’s also a safe place where children can socialize and develop relationships with each other and the staff.

“Not only are we helping to reduce a lot of the barriers for the families in our community, we’re offering a centre where children can be kids. It doesn’t matter what level of income their family fits in or what elementary school they go to, they can come to the Boys and Girls Club,” she said.

The race starts at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4 at the Battlefords Boys and Girls Club on 104th St. and registration is still open. Combres said although they encourage everyone to dress up and have fun, participants should remember it’s a race on foot, so keep that in mind when choosing what to wear.

 

Sarah.rae@jpbg.ca

@sarahjeanrae