The numbers are in: $500,000 raised, 10,000 kids reached, and one major win for youth sport.
Over the past year, the Pacific Institute for Sport Education (PISE) raised half a million dollars to help more local kids and teens get involved in sports and stay active, no matter their circumstances.
What started last spring as an ambitious target is now a community-driven win.
“It just proves to us that we are doing the right thing for our community,” said Stacey Lund, PISE’s business development manager. “All of our dollars stay local and support kids and youth to be involved in sport and physical activity.”
The campaign was designed to address a clear issue: not enough young people are getting the daily movement they need.
National stats show only 39 per cent of Canadian youth meet the recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per day.
PISE aims to change that, one school gym and training dome at a time.
Their programs now reach more than 10,000 children each year – some through school-based physical literacy sessions, others via specialized training like the Canadian Sport School or inclusive programming for youth with disabilities.
Those programs are often the only option for many families.
“We work with approximately 70 children a week who experience a disability,” Lund said. “These programs are expensive to run due to specialized staffing and training, and many families just can’t afford them.”
The money raised has already had tangible effects within their facilities.
PISE recently enhanced its youth performance centre and added hot and cold tubs to its recovery room.
A gaming grant, bolstered by fundraising dollars, funded new heat pumps in the facility’s dome – making it a year-round training space, especially important for children with disabilities who use mobility devices.
On the programming side, initiatives like Power Physical Literacy give kids with mobility restrictions a chance to wheel through obstacle courses and play games with peers in similar situations.
Other programs target Indigenous youth, students from lower-income schools, and teens at risk of falling out of sport altogether.
“Teenagers are one of our biggest focuses right now,” Lund said. “That’s where we lose a lot of kids from sport, so these funds help us grow programs that keep them engaged, supported and confident.”
One of the campaign’s marquee events, the Family Sport & Recreation Festival, held on May 3, drew more than 2,000 people to PISE’s Interurban campus to try out a wide range of physical activities and connect with local sport organizations.
Lund said it helped drive interest not just in PISE’s programs, but in community sport as a whole.
As for what’s next, the fundraising isn’t slowing down.
“We’re continuing to grow,” Lund said. “The demand is there. The need is there. And we’ll keep doing everything we can to make sure every child has the opportunity to play.”
