Chase Kraynick was raised near Canora, Saskatchewan. He loved living on a farm, sports, and his family. Then, just over a year ago, Chase was killed in a tragic accident.
Rachel Kraynick, Chase’s mother, says before he died, the five-year-old became immersed in one particular kindergarten project.
"He came home with this Pay it Forward card. And the teachers were trying to instill in the students the lesson about doing random acts of kindness and generosity for complete strangers without expecting anything in return. And our little Chase wanted to use his Pay it Forward card all the time."
Now, to honour Chase, the Kraynicks decided to pass out special Pay it Forward cards at his funeral, to encourage others to act with generosity, like Chase. They set up a blog for people to write their stories of how they were making a difference. The response was overwhelming.
"When Chase passed away, the community was so supportive to us. And people were doing so many good things to help us out. And so we wanted to use our Pay it Forward card in memory of Chase in a special way and to give back to the community."
That's when they came up with the idea of the Chase Kraynick Memorial Splash Park. The park will be built in the heart of Canora, but with a price tag of over $3000, fundraising is needed.
The Kraynicks spent their Saturday morning, giving away pumpkins in exchange for donations. They are also campaigning to win the Aviva Community Fund Contest, where Canadians can vote on a project to receive funding.
With support from government, the town of Canora, and neighbouring communities, the Kraynick family is happily reminding everyone to live Chase’s dream of Paying it Forward.
