Long-time Sylvan Lake resident and rodeo announcer Brett Gardiner wants people to look for the good around them and pass it on to others whenever they can.
In July of this year, Gardiner and his family launched Chase The Good, an organization that gives back to the community of Sylvan Lake.
“I think ‘chase the good’ was an expression that I would use even when talking to my kids, that’s how the idea started,” Gardiner explained. “On the heels of the pandemic, there was a lot of divisiveness and I had to find some motivation to find what was good in the world and be intentional. Find the good – it’s not going to come and find us. We’d tell our kids we have to be kind and go chase the good stuff.”
Gardiner recently finished his masters degree in counselling and as a mental health professional working in a clinical role, he also found a lot of other people struggling to find the bright spots in their day.
“Chase what’s good,” Gardiner said. “It’s there, you just have to look for it.”
A friend of Gardiner’s suggested he do something with the expression and the idea behind it, and Chase The Good was born.
“My wife and I sat down and talked about it, and we thought it might be a way to start something and give back to the community, the community that has helped raise our kids,” he explained.
The Sylvan Lake Gulls Give Foundation recently requested to partner with Chase The Good and donated $10,000.
“With that money, we were able to support all of the schools in Sylvan Lake with their breakfast programs,” Gardiner said. “We were excited to be able to do that and we thought it was important.”
Chase The Good is also selling t-shirts, hoodies and stickers online and all proceeds will be donated back into the community.
“If it grows and gets bigger, that’s great,” Gardiner said of the future of Chase The Good. “I think we want to keep spreading the word as much as we can and help as much as we can. Whether that’s big dollars or smaller initiatives here and there, we’ll do what we can. It’s important to lead by example, to show our kids it’s important to give back and be as positive an influence as we can in other people’s lives.”
You can find Chase The Good on Instagram, Facebook and online at chasethegood.ca.