FCSS hosting Penny Carnival in Vauxhall

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Family and Community Support Services and The Do YouthCrew will host a Penny Carnival at the Vauxhall Hall (located at 417 4 St N) on Saturday, April 26 from 1 to 4 p.m.

“The purpose of the penny carnival is to bring families together while fostering community spirit,” said Kim Forchuk, Family Support Worker at Family and Community Support Services. “As a youth group from a small town, the Do Crew Jr./Sr. saw this as a great opportunity to create a fun and engaging event right here in our own community.”

The carnival, Forchuk said, is free for all to attend and will include a variety of fun games, exciting prizes, candy, and a chance for families to come together and enjoy quality time. The Do Crew Jr./Sr. youth group, Forchuk also said, will be volunteering to facilitate the games, and there will be plenty of fun and prizes for the children, with prizes being available for ages 0-6, 7-12, and 13-17 years old, thanks to the generous support of local sponsors.

Forchuk emphasized that the Penny Carnival event provides a wonderful opportunity for the youth group to demonstrate their sense of community and strengthen leadership skills while offering a valuable service to the community of Vauxhall.

“It’s a chance for them to make a positive impact and help foster a stronger, more connected community,” said Forchuk. ‘Our first event took place last year at the end of the Easter break, and it was met with a very positive response from the community. The feedback we received was extremely encouraging, which is why we’re excited to bring it back again this year.”

When asked if the event will have a good impact on the community and on those who get involved with it, Do Crew Jr./Sr/ Volunteers Tony, Carolyn, Melissa, Tyler, and David all had positive things to say.

‘Jonathan’ indicated that the previous year’s event was ‘a huge success’ and so doing it again is wonderful, especially given that it had ‘a lasting impact’ last year.

‘Tony’ states that the event made him ‘feel a lot more connected to the community,’ so doing the event again will create that connection yet again and also described the event and participating in the event’s activities as ‘super fun.’

‘Carolyn’ expressed belief that the event ‘will bring the community closer together’ and ‘increase the leadership skills of the Do Youth Crew and also show leadership to the community.’

‘Melissa’ feels that the carnival will have a good impact because it will get families to spend time together and will be ‘feeling really good because they will be doing good for the community.’

‘Tyler’ believes that the event will help bring the people of Vauxhall together into one big event and increase friendship.

“David, who joined Do Crew at last year’s inaugural carnival, found the event to be a lot of fun and encourages others to also join Do Crew. The model, ‘David’ says is ‘Do Good, Feel Good, so it will help the community feel good to do good.”

“We are thrilled to support this event and play a role in bringing it to our local community. It’s an excellent opportunity for the Do Crew and Do Crew Jr. to see their hard work and creativity come to life,” said Forchuk. “By organizing this carnival, the youth get to experience the impact of their ideas, while also contributing to the spirit of togetherness in our town. We’re proud to be part of a project that promotes community engagement, youth leadership, and fun for all ages.”