Local Amazing Race Connecting Youth to Community
Tamy Simcoe, Youth and Family Worker at Salmon Arm Storefront, noticed that there is a need for students to be knowledgeable about local youth supports independent of the School District. To address this, she conceived the idea of organizing an Amazing Race in collaboration with various partners across Salmon Arm. This event provides an opportunity for students to be introduced to community resources, foster connections, and build safe, supportive relationships between students and local organizations.
The Amazing Race is occurring during the month of May. During the week of May 6th to the 10th, the Amazing Race teams went to the Visitor Centre at City Hall and had the option to go to the Arc Gaming Centre or Storefront School.
At the Visitor Centre they had to match their half of a City of Salmon Arm postcard to one hidden in a box that only their hand could fit into. Once found, they needed to find Sapphire Games, Visitors Services and Communications Coordinator, for the clue to their next task or, in her absence, find the clue in the Amazing Race envelope on sticky tacked to her door. This was a detour which meant they had to choose between two tasks.,
Teams had the choice to choose between a karaoke task at the Storefront School or a VR experience at Arc Gaming Centre. Levels were marked on the task card and scorecards had to be signed by the adult present at the chosen level for teams to collect points. Once their task was complete, they had to collect their route information envelope which would direct them back to the school.
Three teams have entered to compete and, so far, the feedback is exciting. Students especially enjoyed their VR experience at Arc Gaming Centre where they had to walk a virtual plank at the top of a skyscraper. They all chose to complete one of the four optional “Fast Forward” tasks in the hopes of earning enough extra points to set them ahead of the other teams.
“We are hopeful that more teams will join the race this week. Despite not being eligible to win the grand prize, there are some cool weekly prizes, and it’s a fun way to break up the day at the end of the school year,” said Simcoe.
In the remaining three weeks, students will be tasked to visit several more community resources such as CYMH, Launch Program, and Salmon Arm Health Centre.