On Saturday, the fifth annual Jumpstart Day will take place at Canadian Tire stores across Canada, including one in Chilliwack.
Local festitivites start at 10 a.m. and run until 3 p.m.
Highlights include a sidewalk fair, barbecue and car wash.
Several local groups are helping out.
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Fraser Valley, the Chilliwack School District and local firefighters will be in charge of the car wash.
Community Policing will have the Safety Bear out for a visit and the Chilliwack 4-H Dog Club will be holding agility demonstrations. There will be booths, displays and prizes, including a combined $1,500 in Canadian Tire gift cards.
Chilliwack mayor Sharon Gaetz is looking to drop by between 11 a.m. and noon.
The day-long fundraising event is a celebration of Jumpstart’s May Red Ball campaign.
Throughout the month, Canadian Tire has encouraged customers to donate $2 in exchange for a red ball — a national symbol for child’s play.
Donations to Jumpstart help the one in three Canadian families who cannot afford to enrol their children in organized sports and recreation.
All funds raised through the May Red Ball campaign and on Jumpstart Day stay within the local community to help local children.
“It is a wonderful way to get kids into sports who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them,” said Chilliwack Canadian Tire promotions coordinator Jane Aitken. “We helped just over 300 kids last year, and we’re up to about 356 this year.”
Over the past eight years, the Jumpstart program has helped more than 580,000 kids across Canada by removing the financial barriers that prevent children from participating.