Wednesday, May 22, 2002
New Partnership Gives
"Littles" A Chance To Play Hockey
 Richmond
Hill, ON - A new partnership, announced on Friday, between
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada, the Ontario Minor Hockey
Association (OMHA), the Roger Neilson’s Hockey Camp and the
Hockey Life Foundation will have an incredible impact on kids
from across Ontario. The result of this partnership is the
“Let’s Learn Hockey Program”. This program will provide 60
Little Sisters and Brothers from across the province with the
opportunity to receive a full set of new hockey equipment,
attend a week at the renowned Roger Neilson Hockey Camp and
funding for house league registration fees for the 2002/3
season.
“This partnership will give
these kids an amazing opportunity they would not have otherwise
had,” said Michael McKnight, National Executive Director of
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada. “The support from our
partners will assist in making the dream of participating in
Canada’s game a reality for many children in our mentoring
programs.”
Since it was established in 1999,
the Ontario Minor Hockey Foundation (OMHF), the OMHA’s charity
of choice, has been focused on doing just this, giving kids who
would otherwise not be able to play, a chance to play hockey.
“The OMHA and OMHF are very excited about this program and the
partnerships that have been created for it. Financial support
from Old Navy and Post Shreddies and various OMHA events has
made our dream of this program a reality,” explained OMHA
Manager of Marketing, Kevin Boston. “Hockey is ‘our game’
and we would like to share the experience of participating in
the game with as many people as possible.”
The hockey camp, founded and run
by Roger Neilson, assistant coach for the Ottawa Senators,
boasts one of the best all-around programs in the world. Located
in Lindsay, ON, the camp stresses the importance of teamwork and
problem solving while providing opportunities for individual
campers to develop their skills. “Our staff is very excited
about this new partnership,” said Roger Neilson. “We are
hoping that each camper involved in the program will have a
happy and most memorable experience during the week at our camp.
It is a great opportunity for all of us to show our support for
these kids.”
Big Brothers Big Sisters of
Canada (BBBSC) is a National youth-serving organization
supporting 181 member agencies across the country. Through their
mentoring programs, BBBSC agencies are dedicated to helping the
development of children between the ages of 6 and 18 grappling
with social, educational and emotional issues. Currently there
are over 17,000 Little Brothers and Sisters involved in
mentoring programs across the country with more than 10,000
waiting for a match.
The OMHA is the “Largest Minor
Hockey Organization in the World” and is the result of many
years of hard work by men and women sincerely interested in both
the welfare of the youth in Ontario and the game of Hockey,
Canada’s National Winter Sport. In 1999, the OMHF was created
to focus directly on helping minor hockey. Today, the OMHF has
helped give a number of children the chance to play minor hockey
that they otherwise would have found extremely difficult to
afford.
Celebrating their 26th
consecutive year, the Roger Neilson's Hockey Camp provides
campers with the opportunity to develop their individual and
team-play skills. Roger has spent 26 years developing this
program and keeping it on "the cutting edge" of
instruction and development of young hockey players. Their
unique team-building and leadership development classes stress
the importance of teamwork and problem solving.
To receive an application form
for the “Let’s Learn Hockey Program” please visit www.bigbrothers.com
or contact your local Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada
centre.
© 2002 Ontario Minor Hockey
Association. All rights reserved.
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