ARTHUR – It all started with the Baker children outside of their home this past summer attempting to sell parts of an old scooter to raise money for a new one.
In the end, the scooter idea was tossed and nearly $3,000 was raised toward the future Brent Barnes Memorial Skatepark, scheduled to be built in the new year.
Fifteen-year-old Jack Baker, and his three siblings, Will, 13, Matthew, 11, and Sophie, 9 and their friends, Jordan Moyer, 13, and Taylor Moyer, 10, were all recipients of this year’s Arthur Chamber of Commerce young citizen award.
“Scooting is a big part of his life, he absolutely loves it,” Jamie Baker said of her eldest son.
Rather than wait around for the money to come, Jamie said her children and the Moyers took it upon themselves to be proactive.
Out front of their Arthur home, the children would greet people as they walked by and cars would stop, with neighbours chipping in donations toward the skatepark.
“They made a lot of social connections with people … and it was a really great thing; I think from that point on, it really just became that they were known as ‘the kids that were helping raise money for the skate park,’” Jamie said, mentioning how supportive the community is.
Jamie said the family was blown away when they learned the kids had won the chamber award.
“I was shocked; it was nothing to do with what the kids were aiming for, so the fact that they got recognition, especially for the teenagers, to get recognition for doing something beyond themselves was so huge,” she said.
“I think me and my friends are honoured, and we’re just happy to have made an [impact] and [are] happy to help toward the goal of the skate park,” Jack told the Advertiser.
Jack said he’s learned a lot from fundraising and met many more kids in the community than he would have, if not for the experience.
Jamie said her role as a mom is to train her kids to be good people who want to serve others.
“When I saw this, I was so encouraged,” she said. “I think the thing that struck me the most, not necessarily how it affected my own kids, but how it affected the community; it really blew me away, because people were so touched.”
She added, “It encouraged our whole family and I think instilled in our kids, ‘look you’re not too young, you can really start something bigger than yourself.’”
Jenn Duke, whose children Jordan and Taylor also won the award, said the parents were the children’s cheerleaders, chipping in to help with a sidewalk sale that ended up raising around $900 for the park.
Duke said the award recognition for her children was a “shock” at first.
“I’m like ‘wow, I’ve raised … between the two of us, we’ve raised … kids who took this upon themselves to do good for their community,’” Duke said.
“Personally, growing up, I took initiative to do things, but not like this.
“It just makes me proud to see that my kids got involved and are passionate in getting something that they want and they’re striving for it.”
