(Ottawa, Ontario – September 17, 2009) The True Sport Foundation is now accepting applications for the True Sport Community Fund.  Grants in the amount of $5,000 or $25,000 are available in support of sport programs that create access, and promote inclusion for children and youth from Aboriginal, low-income, and new Canadian families.

“Through the True Sport Community Fund, we are helping communities to offer programs that will give Canadian children and youth an opportunity to participate in True Sport –sport that contributes to active healthy lifestyles, fosters positive youth development, enhances academic excellence and can prevent youth crime and gang involvement in our communities,” says Victor Lachance, executive director of the True Sport Foundation. 

The fund is the result of a partnership between the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and the True Sport Foundation.  Funds are awarded to innovative programs such as those that address common barriers to participation, create sport opportunities that have a broader appeal to Aboriginal or new Canadian children and youth, provide volunteer coach and official training, and improve or create new playing surfaces.

Although open to all provinces and territories, the True Sport Community Fund focuses on Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Since 2007, $835,000 in dedicated funds have been made available to community-based sport and recreation organizations. All grant recipients have been selected because they represent the values of True Sport and demonstrate opportunities to increase access and inclusion to sport in their community.  To date, the grants awarded have directly impacted over 35,000 children and youth and 5,500 volunteers.  

An additional $295,000 will be distributed in the next phase of funding this fall.  The next application deadline is October 31.  Information and eligibility criteria as well as the online application form are available at www.truesport.ca/tsfund.   

This spring, 22 groups and organizations from across Canada were selected as True Sport Community Fund recipients, including:

$25,000 Recipients

• Yukon Aboriginal Sport Circle (Whitehorse, YK)
• Ile a la Crosse Minor Sports and Recreation (Ile a la Crosse, SK)
• Boys and Girls Club of St. John’s (St. John’s, NL)
• Spirit of Burns Lake (Prince George, BC)
• Trico Recreation Centre (Fredericton Junction, NB)  
   

$5,000 Recipients

• Canora Jr. Elementary School (Canora, SK) 
• Lawrencetown Consolidated School Basketball (Bridgetown, NS)
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Beaver Creek, YK)
• Go Rowing and Paddling Association of Canada (Victoria, BC)
• 3T Program (Scarborough, ON)
• Kamloops Long Blades Speed Skating Club (Kamloops, BC)
• Somali Sports and Cultural Association (Toronto, ON) 
• Yukon Badminton Association (Watson Lake, YK)
• Cape Breton Regional Minor Football Association (Sydney, NS)
• Wild Rose School (Shellbrook, SK)
• UPEI Soccer (Charlottetown, PEI)
• Lawrencetown Consolidated School (Lawrencetown, NS) 
• Nipissing First Nation (Garden Village, ON)
• Greater Geary Association (French Lake, NB)
• Mount Royal Collegiate Wrestling Team (Saskatoon, SK)
• Balmoral Recreation Centre (Stonewall, MB)
• Grunthal and District Recreation Association (Grunthal, MB)

About True Sport
True Sport is a national movement for sport and community. Its core mission is to be a catalyst to help sport live up to its full potential as a public asset for Canada and Canadian society – making a significant contribution to the development of youth, the well-being of individuals, and the quality of life in our communities. For more information please visit www.truesport.ca.

About the True Sport Foundation
The True Sport Foundation is a leading registered charity committed to ensuring that sport makes a positive contribution to Canadian society, to our athletes, and to the physical and moral development of Canada’s youth.  The True Sport Foundation brings together leading organizations to promote, celebrate, and recognize sporting excellence. For more information please visit www.truesportfoundation.ca.

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For general inquiries, please contact
Christina Parsons
National Projects Manager
True Sport Foundation
(613) 526-6043
cparsons@truesport.ca

For media inquiries, please contact
Rosemary Pitfield, Director of Communications
(613) 521-3340 ext. 3236
(613) 355-0889
rpitfield@truesport.ca