Open Category > Departed Comrades - Afghanistan
2006, Nov 27, Corporal Albert Storm CD, 1RCR, Afghanistan
ranrad:
Boy, its sure nice to read this on Albert Storm, who gave his all for others and his brothers and sisters.. and to see this kids park in his name is great. Very fitting.. thanks to Kool Aid , and those with the insite to get the kids out for their perspecticve/.. it should be a dandy park.. thanks for getting this up Mike.. ranrad
Mike Blais:
Cpl. Albert Storm Playground to be built in Fort Erie, Saturday
Dozens of people are expected to come together on Saturday to build a new community playground at Waterfront Park in Fort Erie.
The Crystal Beach Firefighters Association has been hosting charity events over the summer to raise funds for the Corporal Albert Storm Playground.
Local firefighters and volunteers will be at the park Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to build the new play structure that honours Cpl. Storm, a Fort Erie soldier who died in Afghanistan in 2006.
The goal for the entire project was $48,000. Kool-Aid donated $5,000 and the Let Them Be Kids program contributed 40 cents for every 60 cents raised.
Fort Erie was one of 25 communities across Canada to receive the Let Them Be Kids Kool Aid Smile award to help with the build.
Anyone interested in volunteering on the build day can register at www.ltbkforterie.blogspot.com.
Mike Blais:
I must say, I was was absolutely astonished to see the outpouring of support for this project. When I heard in may that these volunteer firemen hoped to raise fifty grand in four months I thought, Geez, what are these guys smoking! snicker. Of course, I am very proud of my community, specially as we have been hit pretty hard by the economic downturn.
'BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS'
Posted By JOHN ROBBINS / Review Staff Writer
Updated 10 mins ago
It was supposed to be a four-year marathon.
Happily, raising the money to build a lake-front playground named in honour of a local soldier killed in Afgha n i s t a n turned out to be a four-month sprint thanks to corporate sponsorship and the
generosity of many individuals and families.
"It has been a community project since the day we started. With all of the donations, it's overwhelming" said Jeff Putman, a firefighter and co-chairman of the playground committee.
On Saturday, members of the community again demonstrated just how much they are behind the project.
So many people started showing up at Waterfront Park to help with construction, organizers had to post volunteers to do traffic control and help with parking.
"It has just been beyond our wildest dreams," said Doug Atkins, Fort Erie Fire Department district chief for Crystal Beach.
"We've had over 200 people come out today to help us build this playground and clean up the beach and do plantings of gardens. It has just been a fantastic day."
The playground project was spearheaded by the Crystal Beach Volunteer Firefighter Association.
It's named after Cpl. Albert Storm, a Canadian soldier who was born in Niagara Falls and lived in Crystal Beach prior to moving away to attend college.
Storm was killed by a car bomber while on deployment in Afghanistan Nov. 27, 2006.
Advertisement
A contingent of soldiers who served with Storm made the trip to Fort Erie to participate in building the playground.
The drive to raise the money for the project kicked off on May 18. The original goal was $42,000, which was later hiked to $48,000. As of last Monday, more than $55,000 had been donated.
"The funds are still coming in and our intention is to increase the play area here even more," said Atkins.
Atkins said enough money was raised that they could have contracted the construction work out, but that wouldn't have been in keeping with the spirit of the project.
"We could have ... but that's not what it's about."
Added Putman: "It's the satisfaction for the people who have donated and want to be a part of it. When they come down here they're going to have a sense of ownership to it now that they've taken part in the actual construction of it.
ranrad:
My hat is off to all you good folks down there, for making this all happen.. i think all will remember this for all time..ranrad
Mike Blais:
‘He’s alive again doing some good, which he always did’
Cpl. Albert Storm Memorial Playground in Crystal Beach provides fallen soldier’s brother with a ‘kind of closure’
Richard Hutton
Published on Sep 25, 2009
Months of fundraising efforts paid off for the Crystal Beach Fire Fighters Association Saturday when the Cpl. Albert Storm Playground became a reality.
More than 170 volunteers gathered in Waterfront Front Park on What was billed as “Let Them Be Kids Day” in Niagara to erect the playground in honour of Cpl. Storm, a Crystal Beach native who was killed by a roadside bomb Nov. 27, 2006 while serving with the Canadian forces which are a part of the U.S.-led NATO mission in Afghanistan.
Among the volunteers helping with the build were members of Storm’s family as well as representatives from the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group based out of Petawawa, Ont., the unit in which Storm served.
“It’s awesome,” Storm’s brother, Mic, said as he worked on the structure. “It’s kind of like closure. He’s alive again doing some good, which he always did.”
Although arthritis in both knees kept the fallen soldier’s father, Albert Sr., from helping with the build, he sat quietly looking on in awe of what was transpiring in front of him.
“It’s a nice way to remember him,” Albert Sr. said. “It makes me feel good. If I didn’t have arthritis in my knees, I would be in their helping.”
Doug Atkins, who help spearhead the project with the CBFA, called it “just out of this world” as he saw the playground taking shape.
“It’s awesome, inspiring. The whole process was a real eye-opener. Seeing that kind of support is just fantastic.
Ian Hill, the volunteer chief executive officer for Let The Be Kids, also called the event “inspiring.”
“It shows what a group of people can do when they get together,” he said. “For these people, the work is bittersweet. It’s community.”
The day was more than a playground build, however, as volunteers fanned out across Waterfront Park, weeding and adding topsoil to gardens as well as cleaning up the beach. Two memorial benches in honour of Cpl. Storm were also installed facing the playground.
A dedication ceremony Saturday afternoon concluded with a ceremonial ribbon cutting and a mad dash by children on hand to be the first to use the new structure.
Let Them Be Kids is a volunteer non-profit organization providing support to communities to build playgrounds, skate parks and fitness parks across the country, As well as Fort Erie, another playground build was staged Saturday in Lincoln at Charles Daley Park. Together with Kool-Aid, the organization chipped in $5,000 to the project, which cost $48,000 to complete.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version