Snowarama aims to raise $150,000

The 2012 Easter Seals Snowarama campaign kicked off this week in Yorkton.

The February 11 Snowarama snowmobile rally will be the 35th annual event, and organizers intend to make it a record-breaker.

"We hope that we can raise $150,000 this year," said Snowarama committee chair Barry Bradshaw at the launch on Monday, Dec. 12 at the Yorkton Co-op Agro Centre.

Last year's Snowarama raised about $128,000.

To date, the local event has brought in around $1.6 million in support of children with disabilities through three programs: the Summer Fun recreation program, which offers summer activities to children with disabilities in Yorkton; Adaptive Technology Services, which assesses the nature of people's disabilities and ways of addressing them; and the famous Camp Easter Seal, a wheelchair-accessible camp at Manitou Beach.

"It's all about funding children and enhancing their quality of life," said John Denysek, regional director of the Saskatchewan Abilities Council's Yorkton branch.

About $1,500 in pledges is enough to pay for a child's summer stay at Camp Easter Seal, said Denysek, and $600 covers enrollment in the Summer Fun program.

Riders in Snowarama are required to raise at least $150 in pledges. On the day of the rally, they ride from the Gallagher Centre on a trail that leads through Good Spirit Lake and back again.

This year's grand prize is a 2012 Yahama Phaser GT valued at $9,000. Participants are entered into a draw for the snowmobile once for every $150 in pledges they raise.

The committee will be bringing back a couple of new additions to the program made last year, such as the Friday night pre-registration and icebreaker, and the live auction.

"We want to grow on it because it went so good [last year]," said Bradshaw.

Every two years, Snowarama recruits a new Easter Seals Ambassador to put a face to the group's message and cause. This year, the committee introduced 13-year-old Bailey Clark, a Spy Hill-area resident and Grade 8 student at Langenburg High School. Bailey, her classmates, and the Langenburg High SRC were all in attendance at the launch event.

Bailey has attended Camp Easter Seal three times and the Summer Fun program twice.

"It has become a huge exciting adventure to take part in every summer," wrote Bailey of Camp Easter Seal. "Making new friends, baking, swimming and spending time outdoors make time there so memorable. The warmth and cheer that Camp Easter Seal provides makes it one of the most breathtaking places on earth with a safe, amazing environment."

Pledge forms for Snowarama are available at the Yorkton Abilities Centre on Ball Road and at Yorkton's snowmobile dealerships.