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RESTORATION REPORT
GETTING HANDS-ON IN SASKATCHEWAN
The kids really get a hands-on experience—with professional supervision, of course!
Hands On Outreach and Development Centre connects with local youth through classic restorations BY ALLISON ROGERS
O
ne Saskatchewan not-for-profit is sparking automotive interest through one-on-one mentorship and classic restorations. It all started nine years ago, when Rick Langlais, founder of Saskatoon’s Hands On Outreach and Development Centre, approached Tom Bissonnette at Parr Auto Body to see if some of the children that frequented the program could stop by and learn a thing or two about automotive skills. Bissonnette pointed to a couple of challenges with the original idea. The shop at Parr Auto Body is very busy and it could prove difficult to transport the kids from the inner city core out to Parr Auto Body’s facility. Parr Auto Body is located about 10 kilometers from Saskatoon’s downtown, in an east side business area. Instead, Bissonnette suggested that if Langlais could find a building downtown, he
could see if there were volunteers willing to come down and work with the kids. Over the course of the next year, Langlais found a property downtown, renovated it to house a shop area, got the necessary equipment donated and approached Bissonnette a second time. Before starting the project, Langlais and Bissonette traveled to Vancouver to meet with Mark McKim and check out the Customs for Urban Teens (CUT) program. The CUT Program puts car enthusiasts side-by-side with young people to work on classic and custom car restorations. Langlais and Bissonette returned to Saskatoon with a vision of what was possible, and they set about finding a good car to re-build. With the help of many donors and mem-
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The kids are currently hard at work restoring a 1969 Mustang convertible.
