“This program is important for those who are new in the community to be able to participate with others in their neighborhood and to start building new relationships and a sense of belonging in a new community.” – Farzeen Nathoo, Nominator
Sport is a powerful tool for bringing communities together. Ottawa South United (OSU) is doing just that, partnering with the Ottawa Police Services (OPS) and Catholic Centre for Immigrants (CCI) to provide soccer balls and cleats to new families to Canada and children in need through its Kick-Start program.
The program is a collaborative effort between the three organizations to collectively promote sport and welcome newcomers into the community.
“We recognized that within the pandemic, access to programming was not possible at times,” said Craig Stead, OSU Director of Soccer Operations and Community Engagement. “So, we brainstormed on ideas on how we could encourage children to be active and connect through sport – from there, the three partners each played their own important role on seeing this come together.”
So far, OSU has donated more than 250 soccer balls and 200 pairs of cleats from its members. The CCI has connected new families in the Ottawa area who have children with an interest in soccer to the program. Meanwhile, the OPS has handled the logistics of distributing the donated equipment in-uniform directly to families, with the goal of sending a strong message to new members of the community that they are welcome and not alone.
Sports like soccer that require minimal equipment to participate and allow those who may not otherwise experience the many benefits of sport to do so. This program, through its three partners, aims to support children’s accessibility and engagement in sport with the goal of making a lasting impact in the community.
“I am nominating OSU, especially the Kick-Start program, due to their collaboration with two very important agencies to make the sport of soccer available to children and families who don’t have the capacity. Being an immigrant myself to Canada, this program resonates in high volumes to myself,” said Farzeen Nathoo, a volunteer coach at OSU.
“Learning about this program made me proud of being associated with an organization like OSU, hence the nomination,” added Nathoo.
“We are thrilled that this important program in the community gains recognition via the Ottawa Sport Council,” said Stead. “As a club, we are thankful to be able to share our resources to help the broader Ottawa soccer community.”
Stead said in-person programming should begin in the coming months with the ultimate goal being to ensure this program is around every spring in the Ottawa community for years to come.
“We encourage other community sport organizations to be creative and start similar endeavors which will ensure children across Ottawa have access to sports equipment.”