Student at General Stewart Elementary School receiving a backpack. (Photo: Lethbridge Sport Council)

By Sarah Jones

Over 150 sport backpacks delivered to Indigenous youth in Lethbridge

Dec 20, 2022 | 2:35 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – With the holidays just around the corner, the Lethbridge Sport Council was looking to brighten the spirits of youth in town.

Through the Pathway to Participation for Indigenous Families project, numerous kids are getting a chance to get involved in athletics.

In a release, the Lethbridge Sports Council noted that physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, and they believe that all children deserve to have access to sport.

That’s why they’re handing out over 150 free sport backpacks to youth across the community.

Lethbridge Sport Council Program and Event Coordinator, Shawn Daye-Finley explained, “We are grateful to offer these backpacks to so many and are excited about the positive impact they will have. A huge thank you to our partners for helping to make this project possible, and we look forward to seeing the smiles on the faces of these children as they receive their backpack.”

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With grant funding from the Government of Alberta, this initiative is aimed at empowering children to enter sport and participate in recreational activities.

The backpacks from the Lethbridge 2020 Alberta Summer Games Society include sports equipment from the Calgary Flames Sports Bank, family swim passes from Recreation Excellence Lethbridge and skate passes from the City of Lethbridge.

Carleen Meyer, a Student Support Worker at Senator Buchanan Elementary School, said, “Our school works very hard to assist families and students in any way we can, to help them be successful. We serve a diverse community, and some struggle to provide the basics.”

They went on, “Many of the families that will be benefiting from the backpacks do not have the means to enroll their children in organized sports outside of school. The gift of sports equipment will help them practice skills, build a sense of community, as well as giving them something social and productive to do in their downtime.”

“A high number of our Indigenous students live in an urban complex with many other families. I am sure the equipment will be well utilized when the kids all gather in the courtyard,” added Meyer.

The Pathways to Participation program began in 2018 and is funded by the Physical Activity and Recreation Division of the Government of Alberta.

Learn more about the Pathways to Participation project online through the Lethbridge Sports Council website.

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