Grade 8 students at Drumheller Valley Secondary School were given a head start into the world of finances on Monday, April 22, thanks to volunteers with Junior Achievement.
    Four volunteers from the community took some time out of their day to help teach the students the financial tools they will need as adults.
    “I recruit volunteers from the local business community to teach kids about saving, investing, budgeting, and all sorts of things they will need to know,” said Vicki Hardy, regional coordinator east-central region with Junior Achievement.
    Students participated in the Dollars and Sense program, which teaches them how to make wise choices with their hard earned cash.
    “It’s about what kind of spender and saver are you, and how we can tweak that a little bit so you are more money-wise in the end,” said Hardy.

Troy Elzner (center), with ATB Financial, helps Hayden Niccol (left) and Noah Miles work through the Dollars and Sense program facilitated by Junior Achievement. Elzner and several other volunteers took some time on Monday, April 22, to teach Grade 8 students financial literacy, budgeting, saving, investing, and other important financial lessons.

    DVSS typically asks Junior Achievement to present their program once every year to help supplement what students learn in Career and Life Management (CALM) and Health classes.
    “It’s all about financial literacy, financial management skills, and the possibility of becoming an entrepreneur,” said Brad Teske, associate principal. “They still get it in CALM and a little bit in Health class. With this, these are professionals in the community, so we feel it makes a little bit more of an impact on the students.”
    For the volunteers, it is a chance to connect with students.
    ““We’re talking about budgeting, saving, and needs versus wants,” said Troy Elzner, with ATB Financial, who is helping teach for the first time. “We always try to do stuff for the community. We were approached and thought it’d be great to come and give our support. It’s good to give back.”
    Students were glad to have the change of pace and learn some valuable lessons.
    “It’s going to help us in the future, because life is all about money now and the key to success,” said Noah Miles, a Grade 8 student. “It’s pretty cool.”

    For one Drumheller woman, volunteering has helped her community build, and now that community has no borders.
    “It has always been important to me. When I was younger, I always lived in big cities and never felt like I was part of the community,” said Cindy Thomas. “With my dad’s job, we travelled, sometimes twice a year when I was child, and we always lived in the city. I never lived in a small town until I moved to Drumheller and I love it. I find it so rewarding to feel part of a community, you feel like there is a purpose.”
    Cindy Thomas, her husband Bob and son Mike just returned from a trip to Roatan to witness the great work that Familias Saluables is doing on the small Honduran island. This was their first time down, but their involvement with the Morgan Jayne Project runs deep.
    “This is a big one for me, I really feel very strongly about this program, especially how much they are helping kids with HIV right now,” said Thomas.
    Most recently, she spearheaded the first annual Morgan Jayne Project Baby Shower and quickly surpassed their goal of 50 cans of formula. A couple weeks ago they shipped 235 cases of baby formula to the Roatan.
    The family’s recent trip wasn’t to deliver the formula, but simply to see first hand what the project does in advance of a trip planned this Christmas.
 “We had decided to go at Christmas. we’ll go and play Mr. and Mrs. Claus. We’ll do the Christmas party and actually play Santa Claus,” she said. “I wanted to go ahead of time to Valerie Nelson, the woman who heads up and see some of the families, so we did.”
    This trip was a revelation. They met some of the families. They also helped to purchase and deliver groceries to some of the families served by Familias Saludables.
    One home she ventured to, they had to ford black water to find a home without a roof, a dirt floor and curtains separating it into two rooms; the bedroom had two hammocks and the living room had two lawn chairs.
    She also had the opportunity to meet the family she has sponsored through the Morgan Jayne Christmas Miracle project for the last few years.
    “It was an amazing trip, a very eye-opening heart warming trip and it gave me opportunity to meet people that everyone in Drumheller helps support,” said Thomas, adding it motivates her to work harder for the project.
    While her work continues it is certainly not the only thing she has dedicated herself to. Her family is a long time supporter of the Nacmine Community Association.
    “I have lived in Nacmine for over 25 years and I have never not been on the board in some capacity. I volunteer with the community association because it is like anything, it is difficult to get people to come out and volunteer,” she said.
    Also as her family grew, she was involved in activities they were involved in. She was a provincial and national board member of La Leche League, and she was active in bringing French Emersion program to Drumheller and stayed involved with the program until her children graduated 
    Her motivation is being part of a community.
    “You feel a sense of belonging. I like being a part of something, no matter how little it is you make a difference,” she said.
    “The reward at the end of the day is making a difference in my community and the world. Going to Roatan shows you how small the world is and it fulfills me, gives me purpose.”