News
We are Launching KidSport Barrie!
Dear Friend,
Most of us remember being involved in sports as a kid. For many of us it shaped our direction and our sense of belonging. We learned about winning and losing and working with others and about just having fun. Through sports we learned skills that would carry us through our lives.
Sports rounded us out. Sports brought us leadership and team-building, and it also made us healthier. Sports made a difference then and it still does. The difference is that today it is not so easy.
Today we no longer send our kids out to play. Playing is more organized. Playing sports is usually somewhere else – not just around the corner in the school yard. Belonging and participating in sports is complicated and expensive. There is stuff like driving our kids, enrolment fees, coaching fees and equipment. It all costs money and sometimes big bucks!
Every family knows that sports still makes a difference for their kids. Many also know that it is a difficult time to be a kid. Childhood diabetes is epidemic, youth gang violence is on the rise, and it is a time when childhood obesity is at the highest it has ever been.
Being a kid in Barrie is sometimes not so easy. In our community about 7,000 kids live below the poverty line. For two or three thousand families sports participation is just not on the radar screen.
So what can we do about this? Well KidSport of Barrie & Simcoe County will make a difference for Barrie. We are part of KidSport Ontario and have supporters like NHLer Jarome Iginla, golfer Lorie Kane, and Olympic Champion speed-skater Catriona LeMay Doan.
And what we do is provide a granting program to assist families in putting their kids into sports. So when a family cannot come up with the funds needed to get their children into a sporting activity – we are here to help. Eligible families can apply online at www.kidsport.on.ca/barrieandsimcoecounty.
Our community's future is brighter when kids can build self-esteem and develop leadership skills. Barrie is a better place when kids learn to set personal goals and learn to work and play as a team.
Those families who want to keep their kids healthy and active, who want to participate with others and be a part of something, can now turn to KidSport of Barrie & Simcoe County. We are here and committed to helping those families and their kids – so all kids can play.
So please join us on Sunday, September 21, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be lots to do for kids of all ages as well as refreshments. Everyone is welcome kids, adults, everyone – at the launch of Barrie KidSport – our kids - your community campaign at our event sponsor Bulldog Interactive Fitness for Youth -- Barrie. They are located at 11 King Street, Unit 1, Barrie, in the south end.
And there will be a special sports celebrity guest! Please stay tuned for that announcement.
See you there!
Denis Galbraith
Denis Galbraith is the chair of KidSport & Simcoe County and is Senior Vice President of Denis Galbraith & Associates, Wellington West Capital.
|
