Grade 3 student raises money to help fight addiction
Theodore Mason is quite the little athlete who likes to run and with the help of his mother Megan came up with the idea to run for a cause. The 8-year-old was given an assignment at school to do a project that would positively affect a person, place or an animal.
"So I chose people," said Theodore. "I raised money for the Grace House with a five kilometre run."
He managed to raise $905 by running from Nacmine to Drumheller where the recovery home is located.
"Addiction has touched our family personally," said Megan. "I know a lot of families that have been affected by it so when me and Theo we're brainstorming about what can we do for this school project, I just mentioned the Grace House and the second I mentioned it to Theo he was on board and it just did something to his heart, it really spoke to him."
Theodore didn't expect to raise almost a thousand dollars.
"I thought we were only getting like $50 or $100," he said. "A $100 like max."
The Grace House opened in 1990 and is an Alberta Health Services licensed facility. Its waiting list is three months long and right now there are ten men in treatment for addiction.
Shaun Watson is the facility manager and went through the program himself. He was the point of contact for Theodore and his mom Megan and is impressed by the boy's initiative.
"There's that big stigma and nobody likes to talk about it so for some little guy to show that he cared enough (for the men in treatment) to raise some money to help them out in their journeys says lot," said Watson. "It can help turn some people around."
HELPING WITH THE JOURNEY
Watson says the facility gets its funding through AHS but more money is raised annually to pay for additional programming. He'd like to see the $905 that Theodore raised pay for a camping field trip for the men in recovery.
"In addiction you forget about all the things that you used to like and you forget that there's life after addiction," Watson said. "Going and having these experiences, something that says hey you know what, that's fun, I like doing that, it helps a lot of these guys on their journey."
Theodore's grade three classmates are all doing well in the community. He's excited to see what the others come up with.
"Since I was the first," said Theodore. "The second one, he helped the pet store get a bunch of cat food."
Learn more about the Grace House here: www.grace-house.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
PM Trudeau presents premiers $196B health-care funding deal, with $46B in new funding over the next decade
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.

Inflation 'turning the corner' after multiple rate increases: BoC governor
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
Newborn, toddler saved from rubble in quake-hit Syrian town
Residents digging through a collapsed building in a northwest Syrian town discovered a crying infant whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried underneath the rubble from this week's devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor said Tuesday.
Balloons and drones among 768 Canadian UFO reports from 2022: researcher
Balloons and drones were among 768 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, according to Winnipeg-based researcher Chris Rutkowski, who also found that eight per cent of all cases remained unexplained.
How more than 100 women realized they may have dated, been deceived by the same man
An Ontario man is being accused of changing his name, profession and life story multiple times to potentially more than 100 women online before leaving some out thousands of dollars.
LIVE @ 9 ET | Biden aims to deliver reassurance in State of Union address
U.S. President Joe Biden is ready to offer a reassuring assessment of the nation's condition rather than roll out flashy policy proposals as he delivers his second State of the Union address on Tuesday night, seeking to overcome pessimism in the country and concerns about his own leadership.
Canadians now expect to need $1.7M in order to retire: BMO survey
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
3 men missing after canceled rap gig were fatally shot
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
B.C. COVID-denier had illness but died of drug overdose, coroner says
A report from British Columbia's coroner says a prominent anti-vaccine and COVID critic died in 2021 of a drug overdose, although he also tested positive for the illness post-mortem.