Walker Area Community Center Holding November Fundraiser

The Walker Area Community Center, which serves as a place for the community to get together, is holding their November fundraiser. The center has been around for 17 years and is a hub for youth sports and activities.

“Walker Community Center is truly a remarkable facility and community asset here,” said WACC Executive Director Chad Trapier. “So the idea here is to bring people of all ages together and offer ’em some health and wellness initiatives, some things to help strengthen just their overall skills and contributions to the community.”

The center hosts programs such as the Boys and Girls Club of the Leech Lake Area and the Rotary Club, as well as a multitude of different activities like Taekwondo and youth hockey. And while it always does have all kinds of activities going on, there’s a lot more to it than just a place for kids to play.

“There are so many life lessons that they learn through it, too,” stated Walker Area Youth Hockey Coach Matt McWaters. “So learning to be a part of a team and just really, the most important thing for us is that the kids are having fun.”

“They love it, so it keeps them happy,” added Teah, a mother of three children who make use of the WACC. “And that’s what we all strive for as parents.”

The location helps build these life skills, but also makes lives easier for Walker area parents.

“I’m not driving around constantly,” said Teah. “A lot of these activities wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for the Walker Area Community Center. You know, we’d have to probably be driving to Park Rapids or Bemidji, which is 30-, 40-plus minutes away. So having the Walker Area Community Center here is very essential.”

But running a facility of this size is not cheap. The WACC does not receive municipal funding and mostly relies on the revenue that the programs bring in as well as fundraising. Organizers are currently doing their November fundraiser to try and help raise money for necessary renovations.

“There’s a handful of of items, whether it’s from basketballs that are old, weathered, and tattered that really need replacing to more serious repairs in the building,” explained Trapier. “That would be like the windows, they’re really drafty. We have some water damage throughout the windows and there’s just some things that over the course of time have been neglected, really just from a budgetary standpoint.”

Donations for the WACC can be made on their website, or through GiveMN. The fundraiser will last through the end of the month.