Big Brothers Big Sisters Day was held throughout Alberta and in Lacombe — Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lacombe and District (BBBS) celebrated their 30th anniversary.
To celebrate, the group held a ribbon cutting ceremony with local officials — along door prizes, a food truck and other fun events. Simultaneously, the group also kicked off their 40 Mentors in 40 Days campaign, which is BBBS’s main source of volunteers for the year
“That goes into October and that is our biggest draw for mentors and volunteers. That is also when our in-school mentoring kicks off and that is our biggest need,” Crystal Zens, executive director of BBBS Lacombe, said.
Zens was proud BBBS Lacombe has been able to help young people in the region for 30 plus years.
“Serving the community for that long is an amazing show of community support and everyone’s willingness to volunteer and help kids in our community, seeing it through to long-term impact,” she said.
Officially, BBBS Lacombe celebrates 30 years on Oct. 17 and the group was able to celebrate several milestones including five-year matches, 10-year matches and even a 40-year match which originally started in Red Deer.
“That goes to show what a great community this is to be a part of. We have grown so much and we serve all the way to Eckville and Alix — and Blackfalds has the same amount of kids served as Lacombe. We have grown over the years and that is thanks to the community,” Zens said.
The group is also continuing to chip away on the mortgage of the Bamford House, with the help of the community.
“Our mortgage is down to about $136,000, which is less than half left to go. We are hoping to really chip away at that and we have had great support for that from the Rotary Lobster Dinner and MEGlobal,” she said.
Zens added funds raised will also go towards a new roof and a new coat of paint for the Bamford House.
todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com
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