INNISFAIL -- In three weeks' time Alearra Day Chief's dream will become reality for thousands of her fellow young students .
Over a three-day period, from June 4 to 6 at Red Deer's Westerner Park, they will hear the powerful healing music and storytelling from the Robb Nash Project that has inspired thousands of others, including 16-year-old Day Chief, with a message of hope that they too can overcome any mental health or emotional adversity.
It all began when the Innisfail teen seized this dream last summer during a weeklong Youth Leadership Conference at Regina’s RCMP Depot, the national police service’s world-renowned training academy. Each participating teen was tasked to develop an action plan to address some of the issues identified to them by young people in their own communities.
Mentoring Day Chief was Innisfail RCMP Const. Craig Nelson, the detachment's school resource officer. He readily agreed to walk alongside the teen every step of the way.
"You take one girl and ask her what the community needs and she said, 'I saw this one person who was really impactful. His message really hit home with me. What he had to say was important to me and affected the way I had an outlook on life,'" said Nelson. "And then she took that and she said, 'I want other kids to have that same experience. I want other kids to feel the same thing.' And then she said, 'Let's make this happen.'"
Initially the idea was just to do one show at the Innisfail Schools Campus with a few hundred kids, but officials with the Robb Nash Project ultimately decided it was best for everyone to broaden the scope -- three shows over three days involving thousands of kids from across Central Alberta.
"We were super worried about the cost," said Day Chief.
And there was also the matter of logistics, including finding a large enough venue, and how they would be able to convince schools in the region to buy into the ambitious idea and show up for the trio of concerts.
"There was a bunch of worries that came to play but we said, 'You know what? Let's give it a try, ''' said Nelson.
His supervisors at the RCMP detachment immediately came on board, telling the school resource officer that the project was critically important for the community, and that it had for the detachment, substantial community relations value. "It all fell into place with all the partners involved through Robb Nash," said Nelson, noting Robb Nash Project officials expertly handled the overall organization, including getting the necessary corporate sponsorship to cover the cost of the concert series. Nevertheless, the early energy and enthusiasm from Day Chief and Nelson is what propelled the project towards what promises to be an inevitable success.
"We are one piece of the pie, the spark that started it. It is like a snowball rolling down a hill, getting bigger and bigger, and it is going to happen in less than a month," said Nelson. "We went from a concert to impact one school of a couple hundred kids, to a three-day concert series involving over 4,000 students from 22 schools.
"It's super exciting to know that we started that and are part of that. We are going to be at every concert to see this happen and to see this message passed along to other kids," he added.
As for Day Chief, she can only smile for what is about to come. Thousands of young teens will be handed a special gift of hope, one that began with her dream.
"For kids there will be a message from sharing a story that will inspire young people to find ways towards better mental and emotional health. His songs are impactful, all about life and stuff," she said. "I am super excited. It is going to be a great concert for kids to watch. It is going to be so cool."
For more on the Robb Nash Project visit the website at www.robbnash.com.
