The Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) Foundation has donated $50,000 to the Chatham-Kent Children's Treatment Centre Sledge Hockey and Adapted Skating Program.
The program allows children and youth with special needs in Chatham-Kent to participate in and enjoy the game of ice hockey, skating, and be physically active.
The funds will be used to replace old equipment, purchase additional sleds to allow for more program participants, and build the sled loan program so program participants can enjoy school and community skates with their classmates and families. The money will also help decrease program registration fees, and increase program awareness and outreach.
CK Children's Treatment Centre gets cheque from Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) Foundation. Mar 12, 2018. (Photo courtesy of CKCTC Foundation)
The program is organized and delivered by the centre's recreation therapist and Ashley Goure, the captain of Team Canada’s Women’s Sledge Hockey Team, with special appearances from Chatham-Kent Sledge Hockey Paralympian Derek Whitson.
“The Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation is thrilled to receive support from the MLSE Foundation, a like-minded organization committed to ensuring all children, of all abilities, can participate in sports and be physically active,” says Michael Grail, chair of the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation Board of Directors, and parent of a Sledge Hockey/Adapted Skating participant.
“Their support of the CTC-CK’s Sledge Hockey and Adapted Skating Program allows kids with disabilities in Chatham-Kent to enjoy the game of hockey, just like their peers, to live their best life and reach their full potential,” Grail says.
The MLSE Foundation invited the centre's staff, program participants and their families to Saturday night's Leafs and Pittsburgh game for the cheque presentation.
They arrived at the Air Canada Centre hours before game time for an afternoon of touring the facility, meeting some Toronto Maple Leafs staff such as Joe Bowen, fist-bumping the Maple Leafs team as they made their way onto the ice, and a meet-and-greet with Darryl Sittler.
“We are proud to award the Children’s Treatment Centre Foundation of Chatham-Kent the Community Action Grant [in partnership with Just Energy Foundation],” says Tanya Mruck, executive director of MLSE Foundation. “MLSE Foundation is extremely supportive of programs that go beyond teaching the skills of sport but that harness the power of sport to be transformative for youth of all abilities. The CTC-CK’s commitment to deliver specialized and adapted programming is an excellent example of how sport can and does enhance communities across Ontario.”