Janeva Shahi and the Sports For Smiles team are gearing up for their next project. Following their various awareness campaigns and equipment drives throughout this past school year, the team, made up of students from Delta and Richmond, is shipping bundles of hockey equipment to Montreal Lake Cree Nation, in Saskatchewan.
In addition, the group will be facilitating leadership seminars over Skype to further engage with the youth of Montreal Lake, and break the barriers between rural and urban communities in sports.
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.
Last year 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 youth from many km away in more 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. We are excited to continue impacting youth as we make our way across the country,” said Shahi.
Sports For Smiles thanks Northwind Industries & Trucking Ltd. and Mehtoj Group Ltd. for providing transportation for all of the shipments!
“Our goal is to provide Canadian youth with the opportunity to play sports and connect and engage with others in a fun and friendly environment,” added Shahi. “We are striving to give youth the experience of not only being a part of a team, but a second family, while developing a sense of community, leadership and teamwork. With the help of our team's local high school and communities across the Metro Vancouver area, we have developed a project that aims to benefit youth across Canada, especially those of northern and rural communities.”
