Following their various awareness campaigns, equipment drives, and fundraisers throughout the past school year, Sports For Smiles recently shipped bundles of ice hockey equipment to Montreal Lake Cree Nation, in Saskatchewan.
In addition, the group looks to facilitate leadership seminars over Skype to further engage with the youth of Montreal Lake, and break the barriers between rural and urban communities in sports!
In 2018, Sports For Smiles shipped new and gently used soccer equipment to the Inuvik Youth Centre. This not only positively impact the local youth of the town, but impacted youth in other rural areas who were given the chance to play sports.
The group’s goal is to select a different community ever year and positively impact youth in each community who would otherwise not have access to the resources and information regarding sports and leadership opportunities of different grades.
“We have made significant progress on our mission,” said executive director Janaka Shahi. “We have impacted two communities in two different areas across Canada Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and Montreal Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan. We hope that this donation will help further the opportunities for sports and leadership in Montreal Lake for youth. We are excited to continue our work as our impact is spread across the country.”
Sports For Smiles is a non-profit organization that strives to provide youth with sports opportunities, equipment, and leadership seminars who have limited access to sports opportunities mainly due to the remoteness of their communities.
The organization is run by South Delta Secondary students, the majority of whom are residents and athletes of Richmond.
For more information and updates on Sports For Smiles, visit: www.sportsforsmiles.org.
