Indigenous young athletes in Canada were able to compete in the 10th Annual Alberta Indigenous Games last month, with the help of volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Alberta Indigenous Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta, from Aug. 7-17. This is Canada’s largest annual summer games and North America’s largest annual Indigenous summer games, according to a news release from the Church’s Canada Newsroom.
The Edmonton JustServe Council coordinated the volunteers. JustServe is a free website and app, where volunteers can find service opportunities around them and organizations can list volunteer needs.
The council chairperson, Halah Teenah, said they were glad to help.
“I love volunteering because I get to visit new places and learn about new people in the community,” Teenah said.
This isn’t the first time JustServe volunteers and Latter-day Saints have helped with the Alberta Indigenous Games. Similar service began in 2019 and has continued with each iteration.
Jacob Hendy, CEO of the games and member of the Edmonton Alberta Gateway Stake, said the games are meant to provide youth, their families and communities a fun major sporting event to look forward to and train for.
“The Alberta Indigenous Games means so much to our family, as it gives our children an opportunity to play sports with other Indigenous kids and to celebrate one of their identities as Indigenous people,” Hendy said.
He added that the JustServe volunteers are “truly invaluable to our work.”
Hendy’s son competed in basketball events. Another 6,000 youth from across Alberta and Canada played 18 sports in the games.
“The Alberta Indigenous Games mean a lot to me because I can play basketball with kids from my tribe, and it is cool to have that opportunity,” Jacob Moroni Crowfoot Hendy said.
