Aiden Brown and Hailey Helin walk down Hays Coves Ave. in a perfect rhythm.
They walk so fast and are so choreographed it is hard for anyone to keep up with the young Grade 8 students.
Up and down the driveways of Rupertites they go handing out The Northern View newspapers in their mailbox. Without any visual aids or address guide, they know exactly which addresses that have special delivery needs and every home on their route.
“I deliver papers because I need to raise money for my band trip and I don’t have much money for myself. I want to work for my money instead of just having it handed to me,” Hailey said.
At 12 years old Hailey and Aiden already have a work ethic that many bosses would envy.
And they are always early.
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| Hailey Helin and Aiden Brown deliver papers to the beat, doing it for four years, to raise money for their second family, the band. (Jenna Cocullo / The Northern View) |
At 2 p.m. every Wednesday they are one of the first to pick up their haul of papers at The Northern View and an hour later, maybe even less, they are in the mailbox.
When Aiden and Hailey are away on vacation the residents on their newspaper routes know without asking.
No paper by the time they get home from work on Wednesday?
Then Hailey and Aiden must be off somewhere enjoying a vacation and have made arrangements for someone to cover for them.
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Aiden and Hailey deliver papers for the love of music and the love of family.
Hailey is Aiden’s aunt and together they have one very large family. Despite going to the same school, they rarely get to chat or hang out because they are too busy with their extracurricular activities.
“We get to chat on the route and just have time to catch up. So, I really love that,” Hailey says without skipping a beat as her interviewer struggles to keep up with her pace while they march up the hilly street.
| Aiden Brown and Hailey Helin deliver papers to the beat, doing it for four years, to raise money for their second family, the band. (Jenna Cocullo / The Northern View) |
But Hailey and Aiden also deliver papers for the people they refer to as their second family. Their band mates.
“We have jazz band and concert band and we have all been through so much together,” Hailey says.
The duo has no idea how much money they make during their rounds delivering papers.
“I have no idea. We don’t keep track. We just get the check and bring it to school and our band teacher and she puts it into our trips” Hailey says also noting that they are just two out of a number of other students who deliver papers for the band.
Band is something that is really close to both kids. Their whole family “has done it always” they say.
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Hailey plays clarinet and saxophone after watching her sister and niece enjoying it since she was a young kid. Aiden has been in band since elementary school, playing the alto saxophone and the tenor.
“It’s so fun and I’ve been doing it since Grade 5 and liked it ever since. It makes me feel so good,” he says.
This year, the dynamic duo is going to Calgary for nationals. But before they leave they have a few more stops to make on their route.
Editor’s note: Oct. 6 - 12 is National Newspaper Week. And with out the help of all our carriers at The Northern View, we would not be able to get our printed copies delivered to your step. While #newspapersmatter now more than ever, so do carriers.
So be sure to thank them when you see your carrier on your street.
Jenna Cocullo | Journalist
Jenna Cocullo
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