IT'S EVERY KID'S GAME!

Hockey Alberta announced in June, 2011 that five communities in Alberta were selected to receive funding through the Every Kid Every Community grant to get more kids active in hockey.

Funds for Hockey Alberta’s Every Kid Every Community Project have been made available through the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s fundraising efforts, Government of Alberta’s Community Spirit Program Grant, and generous contributions from ATB Investor Services and Penn West Energy.

Hockey Alberta is proud to support new hockey programs for the following communities:

Boys and Girls Club of Calgary - $5000 - The Boys and Girls Club of Calgary has created a ball hockey program for their club kids to introduce them to the game. Many of them have never stepped on the ice before and are using this as introductory program. Their goal is to have this grow into an ice hockey program in future years.

Hanna MHA - $5000 - Hanna Minor Hockey Association is launching a “Let’s Skate” program which will focus on skating skills and introductory hockey skills. This program will target kids in grades one to six and will be promoted in the local schools.

Bow Island MHA - $4000 - Bow Island Minor Hockey Association will be holding a four day “Hockey Fun Dayz” program in October, 2011. It will target kids ages five – twelve who are not currently playing hockey.

Lamont MHA - $3000 - Lamont Minor Hockey Association will be holding a Sunday Shinny program between October 2011 – March 2012 to introduce new kids to hockey. They have teamed up with their local Canskate program and have reached out to the town’s hockey players to act as mentors to the new kids stepping on the ice.

Lethbridge MHA - $3000 - This fall, Lethbridge Minor Hockey Association will be running an “Intro to Hockey” program for kids ages three – ten. They will partner with the Boys and Girls Club, Elementary Schools, the Lethbridge Sport Council and Lethbridge Hurricanes to recruit kids for this program.

Applications for Every Kid Every Community funding were accepted from March 1-May 15, 2011.

CLICK HERE for full details on the grant opportunity and application process.

Hockey Alberta's first Every Kid Every Community Grant Cycle:

Hockey Alberta announced in January, 2011 that six Alberta communities were selected to receive funding through its Every Kid Every Community Project to get more children involved in hockey. A total of $20,000 is getting awarded through this year’s funding.

"Our goal is to empower and challenge communities across the province to identify their local needs and come up with a creative way to engage their youth in hockey," said Hockey Alberta’s Senior Manager of Business Development, Scott Robinson. "Each community proposed to us how much money they would need to facilitate their program. We were very pleased with the responses and we look forward to watching these programs come to life."

Hockey Alberta also put on a Hockey Jamboree in Edmonton for the West Boys and Girls Club and E4C as a kick off to their projects!

  


The Every Kid Every Community Project was created as a funding based program through Hockey Alberta as a way of getting more kids active in hockey. The percentage of Alberta’s population ages 5-19 that are registered in hockey is 9.6%. This is the third lowest percentage per capita in Canada. Hockey is a great way for kids to be active, healthy, and be surrounded by positive leaders in their community. Hockey Alberta recognizes that the existing minor hockey system doesn’t accommodate the needs of all communities and this program offers an opportunity for groups to create innovative ways to get more kids involved.

WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING:

1) E4C Edmonton has created a "Hockey for Kids" project to introduce hockey to kids in Edmonton inner city neighbourhoods. They are targeting 40 kids ages 5-12 for this project. $5000 was awarded for this project.  

2) The West Boys and Girls Club of Edmonton has created a shinny hockey program for club kids ages 4-17. This program will align with their existing "Cool Moves" program, promoting healthy and active living. $4500 was awarded for this project.

3) The community of Frog Lake has created an opportunity for their local kids to get involved in hockey and take advantage of their brand new facility. $4500 was awarded for this project.

4) Mundare Minor Hockey Association has created a "Learn to Skate + Introduction to Hockey" program which is targeting kids of all ages who would like to play hockey but don’t have the basic skating skills. $3000 was awarded for this project.

5) Vegreville Minor Hockey Association has created a "Girls Try Hockey" program to encourage new girls ages 11-16 to get active in the game. $1800 was awarded for this project.

6) The Village of Acme has created a supervised shinny hockey program which will target youth in the community and operate once a week. They will promote this new program at their annual sports day. $1200 was awarded for this project.

"In the inner city, there are many families who cannot afford to register their kids in minor hockey or other organized sports, so the big goal of this program for us is to make organized hockey accessible to every kid who wants to play while providing them with a positive, healthy experience," said David Prodan, program manager, E4C. "Focusing on long term sustainability, we will utilize the grant to develop partnerships with other agencies and community volunteers to make this a program which can go on for years to come."

"This grant will provide the opportunity for girls to try hockey in Vegreville in a fun, non competitive environment," said Greg Senko, Vegreville Minor Hockey. "If successful, a girl’s hockey program will be started allowing current players to remain in the community and giving new players the opportunity to enjoy the game of hockey."

Funds for Hockey Alberta’s Every Kid Every Community Project have been made available through the Hockey Alberta Foundation’s fundraising efforts. In the first grant cycle Hockey Alberta accepted grant applications between September 1 and December 1, 2010 based on the established criteria for projects.

For more information, contact Scott Robinson; Executive Director, Hockey Alberta Foundation.