When the price of a chocolate bar in the canteen rose to $10, the young people at the Alberta Community and Co-operative Association summer camp knew they had to do something.
That’s when the lesson sunk in about co-ops, said Liane Courchesne, a former camper.
She said the teenagers realized they were being taught an example of the value of co-ops to consumers. They had to form a co-op and get everybody to pay $1 to join. Then, as owners of the co-op, they could set the prices at a more reasonable level.
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“Being from the city I wasn’t aware of co-ops other than the food store, but through the activities I learned everyone is a member and pays for a share,” Courchesne said.
She spent five years at the various levels of the Alberta camp near Nordegg and now is administrative assistant to the Alberta co-op association.
She said the people and their acceptance of all who attended the camps are the reason she returns.
That’s the experience the three prairie co-op associations hope other young people receive by attending their annual camps. Alberta and Saskatchewan hold week-long camps in the summer while Manitoba has two long weekend events in spring and fall.
The camps are for 13 to 18 year olds, said Alan Bartolcic, manager of youth and community development at the Alberta co-op association. During the days the young people canoe, hike, do photography, create their own newspaper, set up a government and run their own store. They don’t have to be co-op members to go to camp, but most are sponsored by a co-op, credit union or agricultural society.
“What we ask is for them to come back and teach their community about leadership, self-esteem and group process,” Bartolcic said.
While most participants used to be from rural Alberta, urban kids now make up half the campers, he added. The Alberta Goldeye Centre averages about 55 participants per week, or 350 per summer.
United Farmers of Alberta, a farm retail co-op, sponsors 60 spots at the Alberta camps each summer.
“We sponsor this many for several reasons,” said Darla Borbely, manager of member relations for UFA.
“It’s a program that focuses on youth and education, which adheres to co-operative principles. … They are the future generations of the co-operative so hopefully their learning and understanding creates ambassadors for all co-operatives. We have hired past graduates of the camp.”
Saskatchewan hosts teens aged 14 to 18 at its camps at Candle Lake from July 3-29. Former camper Colin Gingras attended three camps and enjoyed meeting people. With 30 people at each camp, the young people get to know each other well.
“My MSN (computer e-mail) list is full and I’ve had people come visit me,” he said.
The co-op camps listed on his resume also helped when applying for a job. Gingras now works at the Sherwood Co-op in Regina.
Manitoba’s 3 1/2 day seminars are held at the Riding Mountain Conference Centre.
The first seminar this year will be May 4-7 and should draw 30 to 40 kids. It is the 20th year for the Manitoba event, said Vera Goussaert of the Manitoba Co-operative Association.
She said seminars include communication and public speaking, values discussions, how to work effectively in groups, diversity, global development and co-operation.
Staff for the twice-yearly seminars are volunteers, most of whom attended the camps. Goussaert said about two-thirds of the young people are rural, with the rest from Winnipeg.
For the Manitoba weekend, contact Goussaert at 204-989-5930; for Alberta’s camp, call Bartolcic at 780-451-5959; and for Saskatchewan, call Victoria Morris at 306-244-3702.
