Download
in PDF Format
Sports
Ball Helps Kids Live Dreams and Stand Tall
Foundation Inspires Youth Across
Canada through Sports
Toronto, June 9, 2003 -- The S’port
for Kids Foundation (SFK Foundation) will stage its
annual charity S’ports Ball on Tuesday, June 10
(Reception-6 pm, Dinner-7 pm) with sports celebrities
to raise money for disadvantaged youth who don’t have
the funds to play community sports or join a sports
team.
The star-studded event at the Premiere
Ballroom and Convention Centre, Richmond Hill (9019
Leslie Street, north of Hwy 7) features entertainers
Jim Witter and the Piano Men and Danny Diaz. Celebrity
supporters include Tracy Wilson, Olympic medallist
and TV sports analyst and George Chuvalo, former heavy
weight boxing champion, among others.
Since 1999, the S’port for Kids Foundation
has assisted more than 3,500 needy children through
its S’port Grants. This year, SFK created a new national
program – The S’port for Kids Play Fund –
in partnership with the Children’s Aid Foundation
to make it possible for youth in foster care to move
from the sidelines to centre field and live their
sports dreams. There are approximately 66, 000 children
in foster care who don’t have the financial means
to take part in organized sports.
The 2003 S’port Grant recipients are
- Pathways Drop-In Centre in York Region, Children’s
Aid Foundation, ASSIST Community Services in Edmonton,
Alberta, Toronto City Mission, Yonge Street Mission
and Regent Park Community Centre, Toronto and Zardasht
Oqab, aged 16, a three-time Ontario wrestling champion
with Olympic ambition.
"Our goal is to give children with
the greatest need a chance to have fun, as well as
support their physical, social and emotional growth,"
said Alex Yuan, president and founder of the SFK Foundation.
"Sport inspires children to strive to achieve
their full potential and our country’s future is directly
tied to the abilities we nurture in our youth."
The S’port for Kids Foundation was founded
in 1997 in response to sweeping government cutbacks
that resulted in the reduction or elimination of a
number of community sports organizations and activities.
The Foundation has filled this gap, in part, by supporting
community sports and creating new after-school programs
for youth, especially those at risk of being coerced
into street gangs and criminal activities due to poverty,
emotional and substance abuse issues.
S’port for Kids is a national registered
charity that promotes the personal growth and well-being
of youth through sport. As part of its mandate, the
Foundation has a goal to help needy immigrants integrate
into Canadian life through sports and a further commitment
to assist Canada’s promising young athletes. The Foundation
is managed by a volunteer Board of Directors and representing
a cross-section of business and community leaders
in the GTA. It allocates 100 per cent of its net proceeds
to programs for deserving youth. The S’port Grants
are awarded to organizations that make formal application
to the Foundation and satisfy the granting criteria.
The 2003 S’port Ball sponsors include
Rogers Television, Hillcrest Mall, Scotia Private
Client Group, Allstate Insurance, A&L Computer
Software Limited and CIBC.
Location:
Premier Ballroom and Convention
Centre
9019 Leslie Street (East side)
2 blocks North of Hwy 7, West of Don Valley
Fact
Sheet attached
Contact:
Alex Yuan, President, S’port for Kids
Foundation, (905) 886-8066; www.sportforkids.ca
Lynne Beckett, Becklyn Communications,
(416) 781-8301
becklyn@istar.ca
