KidSport North Bay is celebrating a fundraising milestone this week of $1 million over 10 years to provide local youth with the opportunity to play organized sports.
This total, which has been raised thanks to KidSport’s decade-long, 50/50 draw partnership with the North Bay Battalion, has enabled the organization to provide more than 2,600 grants to help North Bay families cover the costs of registration fees and equipment for kids aged 18 and under.
“This partnership with the Battalion has allowed us to expand the program and to provide local youth – who may otherwise have not had the opportunity -- to participate in a wide range of organized sports,” said KidSport Chair Dave Mendicino. “We couldn’t have done it without our volunteers, the team or its fans.”
KidSport believes that the power of sport participation promotes the development of children's social, mental and physical well-being. Since first partnering with the North Bay Battalion in 2013, KidSport North Bay has gone from offering funding assistance for only a handful of sports to administering grants for 22 different sports activities that are delivered through 37 organizations within the community.
The organization relies on 45 volunteers, including its board, to oversee operations and sell 50/50 tickets during Battalion games.
“We’re extremely proud of our partnership with KidSport and are pleased to be able to assist in providing youth in our community with the opportunity to experience the benefits of organized sport,” said North Bay Battalion President Mike Griffin.
KidSport’s $1 million milestone will be highlighted with a ceremonial puck drop during tonight’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal series opener at Memorial Gardens where the North Bay Battalion will face off against the Mississauga Steelheads.
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