“Children should be challenged by sport, not by their access to it,” Canadian Tire CEO Stephen Wetmore said.
By Samantha Beattie, Staff Reporter, TheStar.comTo make playgrounds, recreation centres and sports more accessible for children with disabilities, Canadian Tire has pledged to donate $50 million over five years to its charity Jumpstart.
The pep rally-style announcement was made Tuesday at the fully accessible Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Paralympian Rick Hansen and Blue Jays centre-fielder Kevin Pillar in attendance as well as Kent Hehr, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities.
The money will go to Jumpstart’s Play Finds a Way Movement to support building accessible playgrounds across Canada, and retrofitting existing community centres, parks and arenas to remove physical barriers.
“Children should be challenged by sport, not by their access to it,” Canadian Tire CEO Stephen Wetmore said. “It is our belief that when children of all abilities have the same opportunity to play, Canada wins.”
The Parasport Jumpstart Fund will receive $5 million for sports and recreation programs for children with disabilities, and assist them with the costs of program registration, equipment and transportation.
“Jumpstart gives these kids (with disabilities) the same opportunities and the same mindset that one day they too can participate in the Olympic Games and play for Canada,” Gretzky said.
“Along the way, they learn team work, hard work, commitment and dedication, everything that will prepare them for the future.”
Simone Kumar, 12, plays everyday in an accessible playground at her school, Scarborough Village. Although she uses a wheelchair, Kumar said she easily rolls on the Astroturf surface and plays with her friends on the wheelchair swing.
“I think if you have a playground, everyone should be able to play together,” Kumar said.
Her principal, Terry Doyle, said the $50 million will help schools upgrade playground surfaces of sand or wood chips to more expensive but wheelchair-friendly Astroturf.
“Astroturf is very expensive and hard to maintain, but while not everybody can go on a wood chip playground, everyone can go on an Astroturf playground,” Doyle said.
That includes parents.
Hansen, who is paraplegic, recalled bringing his three daughters to an inaccessible playground and having to watch them from afar.
“You can imagine how heart-wrenching that was, to watch my kids cross into an environment where I was excluded. It was devastating,” Hansen said. “Now, thanks to Jumpstart, this (accessibility) movement will spread across the country, ensuring no one gets left behind.”
John Furlong, who oversaw the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games, will be leading Jumpstart’s initiatives as the new chairperson of its board of directors.