WELLINGTON – June 29, 2020 – The six worker-members of this summer’s Hard Workers Youth Service Co-op are all bilingual 13- and 14-year-old teens who are not afraid to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and get to work.

This small but powerful group announced, at its official opening on June 29, that its members are ready to do a wide variety of jobs for residents, businesses, co-ops and organizations in the Evangeline region: mow lawns, clean cars, paint, do some gardening, do some grocery shopping for seniors, walk dogs, etc. And all at a reasonable price.

This year, however, because of health restrictions related to the pandemic, co-op members will not be able to do any work inside residences or buildings, as they have in the past.

In their quieter times, the members will build park benches and paint them in the colours of the Acadian flag. This product was very popular last summer. These benches will sell for $150 each. Terra treated-wood benches (unpainted) will be available for $125 each. To place an order, please send an email to coordinator Stéphanie Arsenault at stephanie@rdeeipe.org.

LIVE STREAMED

During the official opening ceremony, which was streamed live for the first time on RDÉE Prince Edward Island’s Facebook page, the members indicated they had recently participated in workshops on the co-operative movement and on the management of a workers’ co-operative. They then elected an executive composed of president Annie-Pier Morency, vice-president Lucy Francis, co-treasurers Marianne Gagnon and Ramsay Gallant and co-secretaries Keera Arsenault and Danika Richard.

They also formed committees to handle various tasks: Finance (Annie-Pier Morency and Marianne Gagnon), Marketing (Keera Arsenault and Danika Richard) and Human Resources (Lucy Francis and Ramsay Gallant).

Those who would like to offer a small work contract to the co-op are asked to email the coordinator, again at stephanie@rdeeipe.org, for an estimate. Once the financial details have been finalized, the youth will do the work on the agreed-upon dates. The co-ordinator will then visit the site to ensure that the work is done to the client’s satisfaction before the invoice is sent.

The co-op will accept contracts of a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks. The bulk of the money collected will go towards the members’ salaries. A small portion will be withheld by the co-op to cover its operational expenses. At the end of the summer, the members will decide for themselves how to spend any balance that may remain in their account; they could give themselves a rebate, treat themselves to a meal or an outing, or leave the money in the account for the 2021 edition of the co-op.

To declare their season officially open, the members cut a traditional ribbon. They also did a random draw for a beautiful park bench in the colours of the Acadian flag they had built. To be eligible for the draw, people simply had to like and share a photo of the bench (with a description of the contest) that had been posted on the RDÉE’s Facebook page. The organizers said they were very impressed by the fact that nearly 600 people shared the photo! The winner of the bench was Melanie Mahar from St. Nicholas.

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PHOTO: The worker-members of the Hard Workers Youth Services Co-op cut a ribbon to officially launch their working season. Seen, from the left, are vice-president Lucy Francis, co-secretary Keera Arsenault, president Annie-Pier Morency, co-secretary Danika Richard and co-treasurers Marianne Gagnon and Ramsay Gallant

PHOTO 2: Melanie Mahar of St. Nicholas is the lucky winner of this Acadian park bench.

For more information, please contact
Stéphane Blanchard
Youth Development Officer
RDÉE Prince Edward Island
(902) 388-8460
stephane@rdeeipe.org