Despite the recent establishment of a community B.C. KidSport chapter, local kids who can't afford to hit a home run or shoot some hoops will likely have to wait until the fall to benefit from the new charity, according to its director Pete Quevillon.
But much-needed help is on the way. Quevillon spoke to approximately 10 hopeful B.C. Kid Sport volunteers on Thursday (April 22), outlining the next step volunteers should take to get the organization fully running.
"This was sort of our first real meeting of folks who are interested in rolling up their sleeves," he said.
B.C. KidSport helps cover the registration costs for kids who want to play sports but can't afford the processing fees. The Squamish community chapter will raise and disburse funds locally eventually, however the chapter is still in its early planning stages according to Quevillon.
He said although the local community chapter has some money to give away - more than $6,000 to be exact - the organization does not have all the volunteers it needs to run.
"The next steps for this group is identify who's going to take on those key roles, chair, vice chair, treasurer. Do a little brainstorming as to what's out there in terms of seeking out support for funding and putting names to who's going to do that."
Quevillon said he's hoping to encourage a wide variety of people from various professional backgrounds to come to the Squamish KidSport table including parents of young adults who may have been involved with sports in the past.
"It's the folks whose kids have grown, who may be into their teens or university age - these parents have spent years coaching, driving, administering and volunteering and now suddenly have this tremendous knowledge base, and obviously a respect and a passion for sport but don't have sort of anywhere to channel it, so those are the kind of folks that make really great additions to a KidSport chapter.
"They bring a wealth of knowledge and in many cases some great networks to the table and that's really important."
Among potential volunteers who showed up at the KidSport meeting was Squamish Rotary Club president Ian Davis, who said the meeting was informative.
"We talked about where the likely funding and payouts would be to a community the size of Squamish and [Quevillon] felt that that number based on his experience with KidSport would probably be in the order of $10,000 to $15,000 a year."
Currently, the Squamish Rotary Club acts as the custodian of the B.C. KidSport seed money, but the club will not run the program in the future.
Quevillon said he's impressed with how much interest the chapter has generated thus far, with local sports organizations committing a portion of their regular season proceeds to the non-profit community chapter.
"Having a buy-in from the sport organizations is a huge plus. I'm not sure of any other KidSport chapters that have got that level of buy in from the sport organizations, locally. It's very encouraging."
Quevillon said he intends to speak at another B.C. KidSport meeting in Squamish in mid to late May, and he hopes to hand out the first set of grants in the fall.
"It could conceivable come together sooner than that," said Davis. "I think there are enough people to fill the opening positions and agree to do it.
"Anyone interested in this sort of organization is welcomed to get a hold of us, and the sooner that happens the sooner we'll have a chapter."
Interested volunteers can contact Janet Gugins at 604-898-3604.
Anyone between the age of six and 18 interested in playing an organized sport can apply to have B.C. KidSport pay their registration fees by visiting www.kidsportcanada.ca.
