REGINA – Over 150 people took to the North Central Family Centre in the 7th Annual 5K Walk/Run.
The day was all about celebrating the North Central neighbourhood. The area is known for having the highest rates of crime and violence in the city.
But the focus Saturday was to shift negative views to more positive ones.
“There’s so many negative things that come out, but really it is a real sense of community here and it’s a lot of people watching out for each other,” Sandy Wankel, North Central Family Centre Founder (NCFC) explained.
The North Central Family Centre partnered with the Regina Police, Regina Fire, U of R Nursing Students and the Queen City Marathon to put on the event.
“Running and walking is a huge community based program in terms of building those networks for themselves,” Shawn Weimer of Queen City Marathon explained.
It’s a network of caring and support.
The event was also dedicated to Ivan Amichand, a cofounder of the centre who passed away three years ago.
“He was a very important part of the kids lives and the lives of the centre. Anytime we can honour him and bring back his memory, we just feel he’s a part of us today,” Wankel said.
“We have all walks of life coming together to create a sense of community.”
From firefighters to police officers, the message was clear: To promote a sense of well being and health, but also a sense of community.
“We just thought it was a good initiative to be a part of, crime prevention run and we promote safety and we’re a big part of the community,” Regina Police Cst. Desiree Mills said.
For the children in the neighbourhood, they say the community presence means a lot.
“I can see a lot of happy people here enjoying lunch time with my friends,” Youth Ryley Delorne explained.
Global News was also present, showing support and taking part in the walk.
Comments