A 17-year-old basketball player in Boyle has the opportunity to play as part of the All-Star Alberta basketball team in Las Vegas in July.
But only if he is able to fund his way there.
Garrett Berube of Boyle has been offered a spot on an All-Star Alberta basketball team during a series of basketball tournaments taking place in Las Vegas later in July.
Garrett Berube said the opportunity came up from the impression he made two years ago at a two-day basketball camp in Athabasca.
“I was remembered at the camp,” Garrett Berube said. He said he got a call offering him a spot on the team, no try-outs.
“I had very little time to fundraise for it, so then, I had to go around asking for sponsors,” Garrett Berube said.
In response, Garrett’s brother Brenden Berube created the GoFundMe.
The goal is to reach $4,000 to cover the expenses for travel and accommodations. Garrett Berube will be taking part in the Las Vegas Live tournament and the Las Vegas Classic tournament.
He leaves on July 7 to train for the tournaments and heads to Las Vegas July 14.
“It’s pretty exciting to say the least,” his mother Suzanne Berube said about the funding with a laugh. “It seems to be coming anyways now.”
The GoFundMe campaign stands at $300 of the $4,000 as of July 8, but other donations outside the GoFundMe have come in.
The Lions Club has donated money, but the largest donator so far is an old basketball connection for Garret Berube.
“My biggest sponsor so far has been Green Leaf,” Garrett Berube.
He said that Green Leaf owner Rod Veremy has donated $1,000 to help him out. Veremy was Garret Berube’s former basketball coach.
Basketball became a passion for Garrett Berube in Grade 8 when some of his friends got him into it. He has continued to play since.
“Last year, I had to come to Athabasca [to play] because Boyle didn’t have a basketball team,” Garrett Berube.
If Garrett Berube can get the funds, he will continue to play beyond Boyle.
The GoFundMe campaign can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/garrett-berube-wcanadian-allstar-basketball-team
