This St. Patrick's day Cochranites may be looking for the ol' pot of gold but thanks to the Cochrane Community Program (CCP), they may be searching for a little something more.
Leanne Doppler, craft guru and support worker at CCP alongside partner in crime, Jillian Van Dyke created an idea to get individuals of the day program as well as community members involved in an interactive scavenger hunt throughout Cochrane.
The unique scheme surfaced to paint shamrocks on rocks and scatter them all over town with a little message requesting that if one is found, a photo be taken and posted to their Facebook page (Cochrane Day Program Rocks).
"I thought 'hey what a great idea to do the let's plant a rock around town thing' and to involve the community in our program and involve us in the community," said Doppler. "My ultimate goal for this thing is that somebody's out walking in the community sees this really cool rock picks it up and says 'oh look Cochrane Day Program, lets go on Facebook we'll take a picture of our rock and then we can hide it somewhere so someone else can find it.'"
The sham-rocks have been dispersed in various locations throughout Cochrane by day program attendees. They are mainly being placed outside -in the wild- but don't be caught off guard if you find one staring you straight in the face inside an establishment.
"They're just sprinkled around town. People have been taking them and leaving them at places that we go a lot," said Doppler.
"If there's somebody that finds a rock and it touches their heart, keep it, but take a picture and tell us you found it and you love it because we would love that too."
Doppler mentioned there's a real buzz around the facility with individuals tracking the rocks to see if anyone has found them. She also said that this has brought so much excitement to everyone that they will continue this new project across the seasons.
"We're going to do eggs for Easter, summer themed ones, fall coloured ones and we will do Christmas ones too, why not," chuckled Doppler.
CCP is a daily activity centre which supports Cochrane and area adults aged 19 and up who have physical or mental challenges. The facility acts as a safe space for individuals and increases independence while developing social skills by engaging in a number of activities both on-site and off.
It's never a dull moment at CCP as the calendar is always filled with something to do next. From physical activities like swimming or bowling to educational segments like sign language, the main goal of 'making sure everyone has a really great day' is sure to be met.
So get out there and start your search for these neat little sham-rocks, and remember, you don't have to be Irish to play, you just need a little luck of the Irish.
