It wasn’t Caden’s first pelican, but it was a story worth telling.
The teen recalled a kayaking trip as a highlight of his time with his big brother Al Chapman, but said the last 18 months with his mentor have put a smile on his face.
“Honestly, I really can’t complain, it’s really nice to hang out with him, but I really did enjoy kayaking with him,” he said Jan. 13. It had taken him a moment to pick a single highlight when asked. “I’d seen a few (pelicans before), but it was pretty nice. It was windy that day, and there were a lot of them flying around.”
Caden and Chapman stood in the basement of the 45th BGC Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton and area dream home in north St. Albert.
The grand prize this year for the first time is a choice of a cool $1 million or the 3,331-square-foot, $1.1 million custom bungalow at 26 Easton Close with its four bathrooms, basement bar, entertainment room and lounge, wine closet, three bedrooms and den (not to mention the study off the front entrance or the three-season room off the kitchen/breakfast nook).
Tickets are $30 and are available at the dream home on weekends and holidays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., or online. The first early bird deadline is Feb. 13, the final deadline is May 7.
A ticket also gets the buyer a chance at other prizes including three $45,000 early bird draws. There's also the Win50 50/50 lottery of up to $1 million. Tickets start at $10.
The deadline for 50/50 tickets is May 13 and the final draws are on May 14.
A million bucks is nothing to sneeze at, but neither is a new home with a little extra love built in.
The home was constructed by St. Albert builder Alves Development, which has been involved in the dream home program for a decade now, according to Johnathan Alves. His father, Joe Alves, founded the company 45 years ago.
“It’s such a good charity,” he said. “When you actually meet the kids and see what they provide and to the community, it’s hard not to get involved.”
Alves said he lives near the dream home himself and his kids attend Lois E. Hole Elementary School.
“You have that little extra spark when you’re trying to help somebody out,” Alves said. “We love being part of the community and part of St. Albert.”
The house took six months to design and build.
“All the trades, everybody knows what it’s about,” Alves said. “We really try to express to the guys that we work with, our partners, our suppliers, that we put as much in as humanly possible for the price point.”
The last decade Alves has been supporting the dream home charity has been “10 pivotal years” that saw demand for BGCBigs services increase in volume and complexity, particularly during the pandemic and since, according to Dominguez.
“There are even more children that need us and fewer volunteers who we’re able to match with them,” she said, adding the dream lottery is not just their primary fundraiser by a country mile, it also helps with awareness and volunteer recruitment.
The pandemic meant more kids need help closing a learning gap.
“Social anxieties are a lot higher, mental health is a lot trickier to deal with,” Dominguez said. “Kids and even parents are needing a bit more support.”
The goal of the annual dream home lottery in 2025 is to raise $1 million to enable the organization to benefit about 4,000 children and youth in Edmonton, Parkland and Strathcona counties and St. Albert.
“If we didn’t have access to the Dream Home lottery, it wouldn’t be possible to do what we do,” Dominguez said. “It basically funds all of the programming we do and helps us expand and get in touch with even more children and youth.”
In addition to their namesake one-on-one mentoring program, BGCBigs provides club programs, after-school and summer programming and the educational supports Dominguez referred to, which include tutoring, and youth employment programs. To learn more about volunteering, visit their website.
