A growing number of families are turning to KidSport Okotoks for support, and volunteers with the organization want to make sure every child gets the chance to play.
The organization has kicked off a campaign from Feb. 12 to March 7 to raise funds to help families that can’t afford registration fees for sports and recreation programs.
There is a growing need in the community, said KidSport president Shari Gustafson.
“We’ve seen an increase in our numbers this year and we’re reaching out to our community to help,” she said.
In 2016, KidSport funding allowed 228 children and youths in the community participate in sport. Funding provided by KidSport is up 33 per cent since 2015.
Gustafson expects to see more families in 2017, upwards of 250 to 270.
It’s a big change for the organization and Gustafson said it has had to pick up its game to respond.
“We started off helping about 60-70 families, so we would do smaller fundraisers – a local barbecue or that sort of thing,” she said. “We’ve grown so much that... as a board we can’t manage doing barbecues every weekend anymore. We need to do fundraisers where we can generate some funds to support this program in our community.”
Gustafson believes Alberta’s slumping economy is behind the increase.
“It is getting harder for families to handle registration for sports because sport registration fees are quite high,” she said. “The average fee is $400 and a lot of them are anywhere between $400 and $1,000 and greater. There are other fees associated with sports for families as well, such as equipment, travel costs, food, even just team jackets or anything like that.”
Gustafson said it hopes to not just raise money over the next three weeks, but also to boost awareness of the organization.
All funds raised in the campaign will go directly towards local families to help them pay registration costs for their children. As part of the campaign, KidSport is reaching out to the local business community.
Several have already signed up to help. Okotoks Sobeys has agreed to accept donations for KidSport at the register through to March 7. On March 6, a fundraiser will be held at Okotoks Sobeys, with a live broadcast by the Eagle 100.9 FM. Okotoks Ford will have a truck parked at the store to collect donations of gently used sports equipment, which is then cleaned and repaired and provided to children to use.
KidSport Okotoks supports families that live in the community, as well as families that participate in sports based in town. It is involved in a variety of different sports from hockey and martial arts, to diving and dance – anything lead by qualified instructors over a sustained period of time.
“Our top program that we fund is dance,” said Gustafson. “We do dance, ice hockey, soccer, gymnastics, karate, baseball, basketball, tackle football, trampoline and swimming, those were our top 10 last year.”
Families can access up to $600 per child, per year for sports. KidSport has increased its support over the years from $250.
Gustafson said increased fundraising has allowed them to boost their support over the years.
“That’s our goal, to keep kids active and healthy year round,” she said.
Gustafson said the lower level limited their support to children in elementary ages, and wouldn’t help children in competitive programs.
“This $600 mark helps those youths who are in a more competitive league,” she said.
For information about Okotoks KidSport, visit www.kidsportcanada.ca/alberta/okotoks
