\u201c Ce programme est important pour permettre aux nouveaux arrivants de participer aux activit\u00e9s de leur quartier, de tisser des liens et de d\u00e9velopper un sentiment d'appartenance \u00e0 leur nouvelle communaut\u00e9. \u201d \u2013 Farzeen Nathoo, personne ayant propos\u00e9 la candidature<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The program is a collaborative effort between the three organizations to collectively promote sport and welcome newcomers into the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognized that within the pandemic, access to programming was not possible at times,\u201d said Craig Stead, OSU Director of Soccer Operations and Community Engagement. \u201cSo, we brainstormed on ideas on how we could encourage children to be active and connect through sport \u2013 from there, the three partners each played their own important role on seeing this come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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\u2019t have the capacity. Being an immigrant myself to Canada, this program resonates in high volumes to myself,\u201d said Farzeen Nathoo, a volunteer coach at OSU.<\/p>\n
\u201cLearning about this program made me proud of being associated with an organization like OSU, hence the nomination,\u201d added Nathoo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are thrilled that this important program in the community gains recognition via the Ottawa Sport Council,\u201d said Stead. \u201cAs a club, we are thankful to be able to share our resources to help the broader Ottawa soccer community.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage other community sport organizations to be creative and start similar endeavors which will ensure children across Ottawa have access to sports equipment.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201c Ce programme est important pour permettre aux nouveaux arrivants de participer aux activit\u00e9s de leur quartier, de tisser des liens et de d\u00e9velopper un sentiment d'appartenance \u00e0 leur nouvelle communaut\u00e9. \u201d \u2013 Farzeen Nathoo, personne ayant propos\u00e9 la candidature<\/p>","protected":false},"author":81908012,"featured_media":8315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6556685],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-hero"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgVRos-2a9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4435,"url":"https:\/\/sportottawa.ca\/fr\/ottawa-sport-council-foundation-awards-first-recipient-of-charitable-endowment-fund\/","url_meta":{"origin":8317,"position":0},"title":"La Fondation du Conseil sportif d'Ottawa d\u00e9cerne le premier prix \u00e0 son fonds de dotation caritatif","author":"sportsottawa","date":"mai 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ottawa Sport Council Foundation is thrilled to announce its first Charitable Endowment Fund recipient \u2013 the Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer Club. 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