Snow removal company finds cash-strapped teens work shovelling out neighbours
A business in Beaumont is pairing teenagers looking for work with homeowners who need help shovelling their driveway.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for them not only to make money, but to also learn hard work ethic and what it’s like to have a job,” Shlebey Mounsef, the co-owner of Frost Bite Snow Removal, said.
Frost Bite Snow Removal only hires teens, as Mounsef said the focus is to help them learn what it’s like to be dedicated to something outside of school and also to help them tuck away some money for their future.
There are 20 to 30 shovellers on the roster this season and they cover a lot of ground throughout the winter months.
“We tend to match the houses to the shoveller based on area so that they don’t have to travel too far,” Mounsef told CTV News Edmonton.
Helping the snowed-in homeowners clear their driveways and pathways can be a tough job.
“It depends on the temperature,” Cash Olstad, a 13-year-old shoveller, said. “If it’s warm out, then it’s easier. If it’s -25, then it’s a lot harder.”
“We know it’s cold out. Nobody wants to shovel their snow, but that’s part of having a job,” Mounsef explained. “Not a lot of people want to go to work in the mornings, but that’s just part of growing up and I think this is a great way for the kids to learn that while also getting to save money at a young age.”
In November, Olstad was named “Shoveller of the Month.” The reward? A $200 bonus for shovelling the most homes.
“It felt really good to know that I was the one who was working the hardest out of everyone else,” he said.
“I wanted the money and I wanted to help out as many people as I can.”
Shoveller of the Month, Cash Olstad. (Source: Frost Bite Snow Removal Facebook)
Mounsef told CTV News the business's yearly scholarship of $1,000 encourages a lot of teens to return every year.
“I’m really excited to see how far they’ll go,” she added.
For more information on how to get involved or to have your home cleared, click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.