January 2016

Athlete of the Month

Our Athlete of the month for January, 2016 is a young man from Burnaby who is passionate about playing hockey. 10 year old Daniel has been playing hockey for 6 years and is a member of a rep team, the Burnaby Bulldogs A3 – Atom, part of the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association. Daniel has shared with a4k that he loves hockey because it’s super fun! He says: “ I love waking up at 5:30 in the morning and going to power skating, hockey practices or early games, even though I may still be super tired.” Now, that’s devotion!!!

“ I also enjoy the thrill of outscoring the other team and the friendships that bloom between teammates. You can play for fun or for a competitive league but the thrill is the same! I love the work ethic, the teamwork and the respect. I also love how it teaches you never to quit no matter how far up or how far down your team is.” These are some great lessons Daniel has learned; his lucky younger brother will benefit from all this wisdom. Daniel says: “ I love when I see my little brother Luca and his teammates show heart and drive when they lace their skates and strap on their gear. I always get super excited when we put on our jerseys for the first time every year. Canada loves hockey. I love hockey. It’s our sport. It’s my sport! !!” Wow, we could not have said it better ! Congratulations Daniel, on being our athlete of the month and good luck in the rest of your season!

Sports Fair 4 Kids Recap

[In the above picture is A4K athlete Ben Johansen and intern at A4K Nicky Pieke]

On January 2nd, Athletics 4 Kids held our first Sports Fair 4 Kids at the Canlan Ice Rinks in Burnaby and boy did we have fun! Spear-headed by a4k intern Nicky Pieke, and Canlan Field Manager Thea Cheyne, and joined by over 10 local sports organizations, scores of kids got to try their hand at all the various skills involved in playing everything from lacrosse to basketball to boxing! Each child received a stamp in their “Sportsport” for participating at the various sports stations and then got to make their own goodie bags, full of great prizes and healthy snacks. We were also fortunate to have hockey equipment donataed by Jason Garrison and NHL Goals and Dreams to give out, and number of a4k kids were thrilled to get brand new hockey gear- everything from bags, skates, pads, and jerseys to helmets! Thank you so much Jason and Goals and Dreams!
We were joined by wonderful face painters from Blanche MacDonald Makeup Artistry and a balloon artist (Lauren fromTwist Parties), who made some amazing hats and kid friendly balloon toys! All in all, it was a great day and the kids that joined in had a fantastic time and learned a ton! HUGE thanks to the Cliff Avenue Soccer club, Burnaby Lake Rugby, Burnaby Minor Lacrosse, North Burnaby Boxing club (and our own Manny Sobral), Club Aviva, Burnaby/New Westminster Ringette, North shore Stars Volleyball Club, Champs international skating, Balloholics, Burnaby Barracudas swim club, as well as all our volunteers, coaches and great staff at the Canlan 8 Rinks facility.

Thank You DB Perks

[In the above picture is Doug Perks and crew at the Holiday gathering]

A special thanks to Doug Perks and all his crew at the DB Perks Group of Companies ( including Commercial Aquatics) for all the support they continue to provide to Athletics 4 Kids. Doug has been an annual sponsor of A4K for many years, and has committed to partnering with us for 3 year terms in each case. This makes a huge difference to our planning and in being confident that we can continue to put large numbers of kids into swimming and aquatics programs for the foreseeable future. Thank you Doug, for being a community leader, and philanthropist, and for all you do to make the North Shore a stronger and more inclusive community…it is much appreciated! As always, we thoroughly enjoyed the annual holiday lunch you host for your colleagues and community partners…..it is always a pleasure to join you at that event!

Holiday Giving with A4K Recap

Thank you to all the community partners and individuals who donated to the A4K Holiday Giving Campaign. We also want to send a special shout out to Canlan Ice Sports- Langley Twin Rinks and to Famiglia Bagnolese Society for their generous donations to the Holiday Giving Campaign. We raised almost $10,000 in December and that will go a long way towards putting kids in sports in 2016.

Upcoming Events

A4K Annual Boxing Gala

Please join us for what is looking to be the best ever A4K Fundraising Gala at the Hollyburn Country Club on May 6th, 2016.
Tickets are available for purchase. Individual ticket for $190 or table of 10 for $1,700. The event has a welcome cocktail reception, three-course gourmet dinner, live amateur boxing, silent and live auctions, Vegas-style entertainment and live music.

Click here to purchase tickets.

If you would like to sponsor our event or make a donation to our silent or live auction please contact Sandy Hancock at [email protected]

WestJet Raffle tickets will go on sale soon so stay tuned for more details.