The Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board (NPSC) is inviting members of the community to participate in the inaugural Charity Mixed Community Volleyball Tournament.
The tournament will take place on Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24, with games scheduled to be played in the gymnasiums at St. Joseph-Scollard Hall, St. Hubert and Mother St. Bride schools. The tournament will have approximately 18 teams and registration is $100 per team.
All proceeds from the event will go towards supporting The Gathering Place North Bay. With the rising costs of food, the demand for more accessible support for those in need in our community is the primary reason why NPSC partnered with The Gathering Place.
“The Gathering Place North Bay is an inclusive and safe environment where anyone from the community can access a meal in a warm environment and also relies on the support of the community,” says Michelle Ricco, Manager of Health and Safety at NPSC and tournament co-organizer. “We wanted to make sure that we were supporting members of our local community in a meaningful way,” added Bojan Markovic, Facilities Manager at NPSC and tournament co-organizer.
“We operate a food rescue program that takes in over 250,000 pounds of food annually, taking usable food from local grocery stores and processes for our use, hands out to other agencies needing support, or local and area food banks, or used by our food Outreach program. The Gathering Place Director, Dennis Chippa added. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with NPSC on this initiative!”
The Gathering Place also operates the community garden, on Algonquin Avenue, which produces around 3,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables during various seasons, as well as serving approximately 60 breakfasts, 110 lunches and 130 dinners per day.
“We extend appreciation to our staff for leading such an important cause in our community to address food insecurity in a manner that also promotes healthy and active living. We are equally thrilled to partner with The Gathering Place to respond to our call to collaboratively support the needs of those in our community that we serve,” shares NPSC Director of Education, Paula Mann.
NPSC would like to extend appreciation to all those who have registered for the tournament. Future updates regarding funds raised and event proceeds will be provided at a later date.
