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Local Sea Cadets need new building

The local Navy League is calling for community group to help them achieve their goal
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Wreaths are laid at the cenotaph as members of the local Sea Cadets 204 Babine stand guard at the cenotaph in Smithers during 2023 Remembrance Day ceremonies. (The Interior News file photo)

Smithers Sea Cadets need a new building.

The group says that while they currently have a hall, they are looking to gain more recruits and volunteers, something that requires a new space.

“The hall is over 40 years old, and when it was built, it was built for a small area or a smaller Cadet Corps,” said Anthoni Hunt, BC Mainland division president. “And now that they’re growing, unfortunately, since this program is run by volunteers, they haven’t had the ability to do the maintenance that the building requires.”

“We’re needing a new facility to meet the demands of technology and stuff like that,” he said.

Smither’s new Navy League president, Evy MacKay said she hopes to have a building that will benefit the entire community, not just the Navy League. She said a new hall would be used by other community groups.

“Smithers is lacking so much on community space and recreation space,” she said.

“What we’d like to see is where we were pushing towards building a new building. So that new building would have a large area for recreational sports, hopefully [a] commercial kitchen.”

To help them get the funds needed, MacKay is reaching out to other organizations for help.

“If your community group is struggling for space and is interested in helping us with a letter of support for a new building that will have relatable space for recreation or meetings, reach out to us,” she said.

“We’re going to be looking for corporate sponsorship, and we are going to be applying for a bunch of grants to try to get things going and in the works.”

Anyone interested in supporting the local Sea Cadets can email 204babinesea@gmail.com or smithers@bcmainand.ca