This is one in a series of special 91原创 Advance Times stories about what to expect at this year鈥檚 91原创 Good Times Cruise-In, happening this Saturday, Sept. 7, in Aldergrove. You can also check out this series in our special keepsake edition, which hit the streets on Wednesday and available in limited quantity at the car show.
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Car enthusiasts and hard-working volunteers are literally keeping the doors open at some local charities with the money raised at the 91原创 Good Times Cruise-In.
Marilyn Piticco said she wouldn't like be able to keep the Hope After Stroke group going without Cruise-In funding.
Charities and community groups received a portion of the $83,500 raised at the 2023 91原创 Good Times Cruise-In.
And that's the name of the game. Cruise-In has always been about providing a spectacular car show that raises money for community causes. Thanks to sponsors, 100 per cent of the money raised goes to charity.
"The Cruise-in is one of our major donors, as and a small non-profit we are so incredibly grateful. Since 2018 Cruise-In has donated over $130,000, sometimes stepping in at really key moments where Valley has been struggling," said Rachelle Mitchell, who handles community engagement for the Valley Therapeutic Riding Association (VTEA).
For years, VTEA has provide therapy using horses. Mitchell explained that the therapy goes beyond riding, although that is important to physical therapy, offering help to exercise and stretch muscles and limbs, to improve balance, and more.
"Instructors and specialists, like our speech pathologist, are trained to work with the horse as part of the team. Horses are very attuned to emotions and moods, and can help a client build confidence and be more comfortable as they work in tandem," she said.
VTEA typically has about 70 riders, helped by its 10 horses. The volunteer team is generally about 50 to 60 people. When Cruise-In rolls around, some of them swap horseback for horsepower, helping out at the charity car show with various duties.
"Valley could not do what we do without the support of the community. Not just volunteers, which are absolutely essential to running our program, but financial donors as well which ensure we can keep our horses well-cared for and fed, as well as paying our specially trained staff," Mitchell noted.
Piticco started a group for survivors of strokes almost 30 years ago. It has always found a home at the Walnut Grove Community Centre, thanks to support from the Township.
"I'm so fortunate that they have really been my strength through the years, because we're very small," she said.
She's grateful that they've come to visit the program to see for themselves what the program does and offers. It's a social group for stroke survivors of all ages where they find peer support, people undergoing the same experiences as them, physical activity, mental stimulation, and just plain old fun. Piticco said it provides a sense of community for people who may sometimes want to give up on living.
"It's life-changing, actually, for the people that come to the group. And I hear that from them often on a weekly basis, that it is the one part of their week that they look forward to," she said. "And I've heard from caregivers that the lasting goodness of the program, they'll see about four days after they've been to the program, they'll see them very much better off emotionally and even physically."
As for the Cruise-In funding, Piticco said "the emotional support of having somebody like them standing behind me saying, 'We believe in what you're doing and we're supporting you'" has been invaluable.
The Cruise-In board decides which causes to support.
"Our charities are chosen based on our board members reviewing the charity's mission and accomplishments of their goals," explained president Marty Brown. "Further, we support charities that operate within the Fraser Valley and have a 91原创 connection. Our charity partners are not heavily federal or provincially funded, often they are operating with a scarce budget in comparison to the tremendous services and community building activities they provide. Some are small scale and others are larger formal organizations. All are defined by a common pure intent to help and support the community and are meeting those goals.
He noted that many of the charities have volunteers from their group come out and assist at the show with duties such as staffing barricades or helping with car show registrations.
The car show has provided funds to the Rotary Starfish Program of 91原创 and Aldergrove, 91原创 Meals on Wheels, VTEA, Happy Herd Farms, Bikers Against Child Abuse, the 91原创 Boys and Girls Club, Soroptimists of the 91原创s, and Hope After Stroke, as well as offering scholarships.
