And then some.
The charitable organization recently released their highlights for 2019, and the numbers were wildly impressive — a total of 13,858 kids received $1.61 million throughout the province, covering more than 50 sports.
In Moose Jaw alone, 255 youngsters were funded to the tune of $51,631, covering the gamut of summer and winter sports and everything in between.
“I think even in regular times KidsSport serves a really important purpose, andtbusinesses and families and organizations in Moose Jaw have been really good supporters of us both locally and as a province,” said Moose Jaw KidSport chair John Eberl. “Each individual committee can say the same thing, but really in this city, it’s been fantastic
“Yes, there’s a need and, yes, people have stepped up to help. We feel really good about that.”
KidSport carries a mission that no child should be left on the sidelines and all should be given the opportunity to experience the positive benefits of organized sports. Among their many activities, the majority of KidSport’s donations go toward registration fees, clearing a tall hurdle for many families.
“It’s just a win, win, win situation,” Eberl said. “The families are grateful for the opportunity to get a child into sport when it might not have been there otherwise. Sports organizations benefit by having another member of the team he or she is on, the kids get a chance to play — the list goes on and on when it comes to the benefits.”
Like many charity groups in the city, fundraising events for KidSport have been put on hold for the moment as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. But they’ll be ready to hit the ground running when the time comes and things open up.
“We’re keeping in tune with what’s going on, and with youth sports being on hold and a degree of uncertainty to a start update, what it’s going to look like, how much it’s going to cost,” Eberl said. “So we’ve been waiting to see what happens as well and when we’ll be needed.”
The question is just what those sports will be, with many like baseball, soccer, lacrosse and flag football having already pushed back start dates and some likely to cancel their seasons outright if they haven’t already.
“The spring sports are going to be the tough ones because we have no idea what’s going to happen,” Eberl said. “Usually with baseball, for example, people want it done by June 30 for the most part, except for the elite level, so there’s the question what will happen there. And that’ll extend into the summer with everything else that’s going on.
“We’ll see what happens over the next week, two weeks, 30 days, just like everything that’s happening with COVID-19,” he added. “We need to be prepared to roll with the punches. We are and we’ll be ready to get at it.”
KidSport continues to accept donations online, check their website at for more on how to do just that. For a look at the complete KidSport Saskatchewan report, you can click right here.
