An unforgettable two months with Youth Central

Throughout this summer, I was lucky to be involved in many volunteer projects through Youth Central. I tried to keep myself busy for July and August only because there were so many things happening in Calgary every single day, and I did not want to miss out. Looking back, I realized that Calgary was a city charged with overflowing energy, with festivals celebrating all kinds of things each and every single day with an incredible amount of people participating. I’ve been through it all- winning a colouring contest in Canada Day Festivities in Fort Calgary, spending two emotional weeks with the campers in Camp Bonaventure with the Between Friends Club, cheering teams to victory in two different Youth Soccer Tournaments, getting overwhelmed with kids and pets at the Calgary Humane Society’s Camp Pet-a-bow-wow, playing sports and games with kids in Spruce Cliffe Camp, witnessing street performers in the Fringe Festival, going crazy with the bounce houses in Reggaefest, and being amazed by the fireworks in Globalfest. These are just some of the many experiences I’ve had over the two months volunteering with Youth Central. Though hectic, I’ve been able to thoroughly enjoy each and every single project, and I will never forget all the great memories I’ve had at these projects.

The following is a list and a description of what I did and what I enjoyed in each of the projects. If you haven’t done one of these projects yet, I highly recommend you volunteer for one when the opportunity arises, because there’s a hidden beauty in each of these projects that promises to be unforgettable.

July

July 1^st– Canada
Day Festivities at Fort Calgary
-This was a great project, the weather was very hot and there were so many people celebrating Canada’s birthday. I volunteered at the kids’ corner, where I helped to create canoe crafts and help with the colouring contest. I remember there was a line up of people, maybe 200-300 feet just for the bounce houses.

July 2^nd– Bowling at Spruce Lodge

-This was a fairly easygoing project, with the volunteers having to set up a miniature bowling “alley” to help seniors get engaged in an intense, competitive game of bowling. Many seniors bowled a strike, and eventually a gentleman who bowled five strikes in a row took home the coveted trophy and the chocolate bar.

July 10^th– Stampede BBQ at Hidden Valley

-This project seemed fairly short, but only because I was having so much fun. The volunteers were treated to a delicious barbecue lunch and proceeded to help out in the kids section. I was in charge of the game “pin the tail on the cow,” which did not end up so well.

July 16^th– Weeding/ Food For Peace

-In the morning, I traveled to Heritage Park to help out with the weeding problem near the lake area in Weaselhead Presevation Park. Volunteers pulled on their gloves, and with a giant bag in one of their hand, proceeded to pull as many invasive weeds as they could in the next two hours. We managed to pull six bags’ worth of weeds, making that area much cleaner by the end.

-In the afternoon, I went to the drop-in center to help make dinner for hundreds of hungry people. After three hours of chopping vegetables, making salad and buttering bread, volunteers served dinner to the homeless and were showered with applause by the end.

July 17^th– Youth Soccer Tournament

-In the morning, I went to fields near Foothills Athletic Park to help with the Youth Soccer Tournament. The project was fairly simple, to record scores and give them back to the officials. I witnessed the winning team hold the trophy with medals hanging in their necks, basking in all their glory.

July 22^nd– Patch Community Carnival

-Unfortunately this project was canceled when I got there because of the pouring rain. This project could have been really fun though because there were lots of things planned on that day that could have been amazing.

July 23^rd– Weekend to End Breast Cancer at Currie Barracks

-This was an incredible project because of the atmosphere and the many stories behind it. Most of these women who were participating were breast cancer survivors, and the entire event was truly remarkable. Volunteers were asked to set up hundreds of tents for the runners who were staying overnight. We achieved this in record time, which was a huge accomplishment.

July 24^th– Sun and Salsa Festival

-This project was unbelievable, just because of the scale of the festival and the amount of the people that participated. It was impossible to get through from one street to another because the streets were packed with so many people trying to savour some of the salsas. Volunteers were helping out in the kids’ corner, making fun crafts and supervising bounce houses. I got to
try the fruit salsa on this day, and it was very delicious.

July 30^th– Fringe Festival

-I loved this festival, because I got to watch some of the best street performances I had ever seen. Contortionist Jonathan Burns was there, putting smiles in all of our faces with his quirky humour and wacky acts. The whole festival was a tremendous success, and I can’t wait to
volunteer for this project again.

July 31^st– Tour de Bowness

-Tour de Bowness, which is Tour de France, Calgary-style, had a special competition prior to the big event, which was the Hill Climb. Cyclists had their strength and endurance tested as they went up the hills. I could not believe how far this course went. When I walked up to the top of the
hill, I was already exhausted and did not want to climb another hill again.

This list is for July, and the list for August will be coming soon!