An outreach program based in Clearwater Secondary School but serving the whole community has proven its worth, program coordinator Christine Parsons told town council during its Feb. 7 meeting.
"Where do we go from here. What is the future of the community outreach program," she asked.
Now the time has come to fund the program on a longer-term basis, Parsons said.
Cost of funding the program from now until June would total $37,000, she said. Of this, CSS would provide $20,000 and Yellowhead Community Services about $5,000. She asked the District to provide the remaining $13,000.
Another option would be to fund the program to the end of December. The total cost then would be $68,000, of which $40,000 would come from CSS, about $5,000 from YCS, and the remaining $23,000 from the municipality.
Town council had approved to fund the program on a trial basis last December. The idea was to combine the school's existing youth outreach program with a resurrected and expanded Living Well program for the rest of the community.
Highlight of the program's accomplishments since then likely was a Wellness Workshops Day held at CSS on Feb. 2. A variety of presenters put on workshops on topics such as self-defense, on-line gambling and the pitfalls of using social media. Sessions were addressed to students during school hours and then the general public after that.
Other modules offered through the community outreach program have included Zumba dance-exercise, resistance training and conditioning, drop-in hockey, family fun night, parents and tots sports, community volleyball, ballet, girl power, and theatre.