Alberta RCMP is partnering with Sport Central, an Alberta-based charity that receives, repairs, refurbishes, and redistributes gently used sports equipment to kids in families facing financial hardship across communities from Red Deer to the northern border of Alberta.
Part of the Alberta RCMP’s Community Safety and Well-being Branch mandate is the enhancement of public safety through community partnerships. Giving children access to sports not only improves their well-being, but also improves the overall well-being of a community. Improved community wellbeing directly reduces criminality over the long-term and enhances public safety.
Since last year, a growing number of Alberta RCMP detachments, including St. Albert, Wetaskiwin, Parkland, Chateh, High Level, and Peace River, are actively participating in this partnership, having distributed over 2,600 pieces of sports equipment to community leagues, schools and individuals. Sport Central offers a wide range of equipment for sports, such as hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, football, rugby, bicycling and tennis. The RCMP is also partnering with Sport Central in the collection of equipment and donating seized bikes that go unclaimed at local Detachments.
Further leveraging this partnership, Sport Central will be providing ball kits to frontline Alberta RCMP officers in participating detachments. The ball kits contain a variety of deflated sports balls along with a pump that officers can keep in their police vehicles during their regular patrols. Officers then distribute the equipment to children in the communities they serve, giving them a chance to connect and positively interact with youth. This May, 126 ball kits were distributed across 32 Alberta RCMP detachments, including Bonnyville, Fox Lake, Kitscoty, Valleyview, Wainright, and more. These kits total 1,134 balls that will handed out to kids.
“When youth are engaged in healthy, structured activities, their well-being, and the well-being of the entire community is improved. In turn, communities are more connected and criminality is reduced,” says Supt. Mike McCauley, Officer in Charge of Crime Reduction. “Over time, this creates a stronger, safer Alberta for everyone. That’s why we believe every child deserves the chance to play. And with Sport Central, we’re helping make that a reality.”
“At Sport Central there is a long and positive history working informally with the RCMP, but to be able to formalize and strengthen this partnership is only going in increase the connection to communities for both Sport Central and the RCMP,” says Janna Tominuk, Sport Central Executive Director. “The image of a Mountie handing an ecstatic child sports equipment to help enrich their day to day life, sums up this winning partnership.”
“Sport Central partnering with the RCMP to help rural Alberta’s youth gain access to the benefits of sport is such a great fit,” says Gene Principe, Sport Central Board Member. “The more kids we can get equipped to be active in the sport they love will lead to increased physical and mental health for our future generations.”
For more information on how you can get involved with Sport Central, visit sportcentral.org.
