Burnaby MoreSports

Burnaby MoreSports offers free after-school sports programs in high-need schools in Burnaby. These programs are available to kids grades 2-5 who, through lack of opportunity (financial, cultural, behavioural or social), would not normally be able to learn sports skills and the sense of self-confidence that comes with it. An important component of the sports programs is older children (grades 6-7) and high school youth (grades 10-12) from the surrounding community are enlisted to help in the delivery of the program, providing a structured environment where they learn the basic skills of employment (punctuality and attendance, receiving instructions, planning and delivering a program) while serving as coaches and mentors for the younger kids.

The work Burnaby MoreSports does matters for several reasons:

1. The kids in the sports programs, depending on their personal situation, receive tangible benefits by interacting with other kids who may be different from them, leading to a better integrated community where race or ethnicity doesn’t matter. Kids with behavioural or social issues get the opportunity to learn focus through structured sport skills programs delivered in a supportive environment
2. The kids and youth in our leadership programs benefit from an environment where they are taught the basics of leadership and employment in a structured way. The older kids continue on now to help lead the programs, learning leadership roles. The youth gain valuable experience in a work-like setting, participating in program planning and delivery. Working with younger kids from the community fosters empathy for others while building self-confidence as they mature into adulthood
3. The community benefits by having kids and youth in structured programming after the school day which gives them the opportunity to participate in positive, community-building activities

SVP grant commitment: $42,000 in 2017 which includes generous co-funding from the BPS Wealth Management Group at CIBC Wood Gundy (represented by SVP Partners Geoff Bertram, Tom Porteous and Eric Southam) in the amount of $12,600. In 2018, subsequent funding of $42,000 was approved, and in 2019, $31,000 will be disbursed (pending review).

Executive Director: Glenn Boyle
SVP Lead Partners: Marie-Claire Howard and Bryon Hodges