RED DEER - The Hockey Alberta Foundation is proud to recognize Sport Central as its TEAMMATE of the month for June.
The Hockey Alberta Foundation and Sport Central first partnered together in 2014. Sport Central’s goal is to gather, recycle and redistribute sports equipment to children who would otherwise be denied the opportunity to participate in sports, which aligns with the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s Every Kid Every Community program.
"With funding from the (Hockey Alberta) Foundation, over 20 different communities across northern Alberta have received needed sports equipment and support," said Sheldon Oleksyn, Executive Director of Sport Central. "In many of these communities, registrations in Minor Hockey have shot-up overnight as a result. In the rest, hundreds of low-income children without the resources to play have been able to get into the game for the first time. They confirm the fact that accessible equipment means access to the game. Equipment is a key catalyst to participation."
Sport Central was formed in Edmonton in 1991, and has since provided over 125,000 low-income families with the necessary equipment to participate in the sport of their choice.
"Funding by the Hockey Alberta Foundation has extended the reach of Sport Central’s Outreach Program," said Oleksyn. "The Program has fingers across Northern Alberta to communities requesting help to get more disadvantaged children into the game. With Hockey Alberta having connections into every community from Red Deer to the north, and the equipment needs supplied by Sport Central, a joint partnership between us has shown impressive results over the past three years! Thank you Hockey Alberta Foundation for your leadership and initiative!"
The Hockey Alberta Foundation would like to thank Sport Central for their support of the Every Kid Every Community program, and for being a great TEAMMATE!
