Sunny skies greeted participants at the sixth annual Jumpstart Day, held Saturday at Canadian Tire in Abbotsford.
The day-long event was in celebration of the Jumpstart Red Ball campaign, which, through the month of May, encouraged customers to donate $2 in exchange for a red ball – a national symbol for child’s play. Kids' games, sports, face painting and a barbecue highlighted the local festivities.
"It was a perfect day for it," enthused Mark Krawiec, general manager of Abbotsford's Canadian Tire. "Overall, the community did help us, and we thank them for that."
Jumpstart provides financial assistance for families who can't afford to enroll their kids in organized sport, and has helped more than 730,000 kids in the past nine years. One hundred per cent of every donation stays in the community in which it was made.
This was the first year that the Abbotsford store has held a barbecue in conjunction with Jumpstart Day, and it proved popular. The local festivities also got a boost from Big Brothers Big Sisters, who supervised the play area, and from Canadian Tire employees to volunteered their time to help out with face painting. Their combined efforts raised about $1,600 for Jumpstart.
"It was really good, and the hot dogs were a big success – we'd never done that before, and it was a great opportunity to raise money for a good cause," he said. "Next year we'll look at bigger and better things."
To learn more about how Jumpstart is making an impact in your community or to make a donation, visit canadiantire.ca/jumpstart.
