The Athabasca Community Registration and Showcase Night at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex last Wednesday incorporated the first Athabasca Community Health Fair.
Because many organizations use the evening to simply make their group better known and connect with the public, the event was renamed to include the word “showcase” this year, according to Athabasca Regional Multiplex assistant director of recreation Dustin Pysyk.
Pysyk considered it an average turnout of about a few hundred people looking for more information on community groups, clubs and associations.
“It’s not jam-packed, but it was good,” said Pysyk, who said the night is a combination of groups completing 100 per cent of their registration and other groups that may already have registrants but are still providing a last-minute opportunity for people to sign up.
“It’s important for the groups just to showcase themselves in the community, because it’s amazing how many times new people come down and the first question they ask is, ‘What is there for my kids to do?’” said Pysyk, who said it’s also important to showcase all of the non-profit groups in the community.
Of the 59 tables set up for groups in the Jim Woodward Fieldhouse last Wednesday, 13 were occupied by Alberta Health Services (AHS), which made its premiere appearance at the event.
AHS programs are available province-wide, including in Athabasca, and representatives wished to make services better known and to establish some face time with members of the community at the registration night.
“Through our Alberta Healthy Living program, we offer three tiers in this community. We offer education sessions for managing hypertension, lowering cholesterol, weight management and healthy eating,” said AHS chronic disease management nurse educator Trisha McGregor.
AHS also offers an exercise program at the multiplex free of charge, as well as a free chronic disease self-management program.
The programs are all geared towards people in the community with chronic health conditions, or those who have family members with chronic health conditions.
AHS’s programs are all free, and they can be taken more than once.
“It’s good for people to know that they can access programs for free,” said McGregor. “A lot of people don’t know that these programs exist, even though we do try to get the word out there.”
Other groups either showcasing their work or signing up new members included the Rotary Club, the Athabasca Teen Centre, the Garden Club of Athabasca and the Athabasca Air Cadets.
The Athabasca Teen Centre, which is connected to the Athabasca Landing Pool and serves teens on a drop-in basis free of charge, is a safe environment where parents can bring their children from after school until 8 p.m. on weekdays, free of charge, if they have other commitments to attend to.
The Athabasca Good Samaritan Ministries Association (food bank) provides food to the Teen Centre, for which Athabasca Teen Centre coordinator Joey Maddison expressed considerable gratitude.
“The food bank gives us the food and the snacks and stuff like that, so when the kids come in after school … they can eat there and have as much food as they want,” said Maddison. “Then it’s open until 8 p.m., and there’s computer service there, so they can go on Facebook or whatever, or some of them go on it for their homework.”
Maddison highlighted the Teen Centre also has access to Netflix (an online TV and movie streaming service) so the kids, who are largely 15 and up, have a selection of thousands of movies to choose from.
“It’s nice, because a lot of the kids have come by (the registration night booth) with their parents, and the parents can finally put a face to the name,” said Maddison.
“An event like this is key to engaging the community and showing people what’s available, where they can access services,” said McGregor.
