Last Saturday at Trail Bay Centre in Sechelt, the Sunshine Dragons, a division of the Gibsons Paddle Club (GPC), held their inaugural Fill the Boat for the Food Bank food drive.
Starting at 7:45 a.m., club members hauled their dragon boat out of Mackenzie's Marina and pulled it by hand all the way to the mall. There they proceeded to spread the good word about the needs of the Food Bank and collected donations of cash and food for this local program. By day's end, eight shopping carts of food and $454 in cash were delivered to the Food Bank. One volunteer mentioned that the Food Bank's "shelves were very bare" when they arrived.
This comment just underlines the fact that volunteer activities like this are vital to help sustain and nurture the less fortunate in our community. During the day, the dragon boat paddlers offered information about the great sport of dragon boating to interested and potential new paddlers. As part of this program, the club is offering a summer introductory program for new paddlers, a great opportunity to try out the dragon boat for five weeks.Contact Judy Malnarick at [email protected] for more information.
Paddlers also handed out information regarding the GPC public tryout day. On June 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Sechelt at the beach at Porpoise Bay Park, all public, young and old, can stop by and see displays of the dragon boat, the outrigger canoes and the Dolphin Spirit voyageur canoe. Club members will be available to answer questions and the public will have an opportunity to go for a paddle/ride on the inlet in one of these great watercraft.
Thanks to all the dragon boat volunteers and especially the public for their generosity that helped make the Fill the Boat for the Food Bank drive a great success.
-Submitted
