Annual Sports Equipment Drive a huge success
By Leslie Knibbs
SERPENT RIVER FIRST NATION – On the evening of Nov. 9, the Band Hall in Serpent River First Nation was jam-packed with all sorts of sports equipment to be given away to youth from Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, Serpent River First Nation, and Mississauga #8 First Nation.
Tables filled with baseball equipment as well as what anyone would need to gear up for hockey spilled out onto the floor – and that’s not all. Leaning against one wall were several golf bags filled with complete sets of clubs awaited the golfing enthusiast. And it was all free for the taking thanks to Webb Pensions and Benefits located in Burlington, Ont. Dozens of families attended the event.
Webb is a consulting firm providing expert advice on pension funds and employee benefits. The firm has been doing the Annual Sports Equipment Drive for 13 years providing sports gear for many First Nations in Ontario including Aroland First Nation, M’Chigeeng, Aundeck Omni Kaning, Mishkeegogamang First Nation, Sheguiandah, Pikangikum First Nation, Zhiibaahaasing, Whitesand First Nation, Sheshegwaning, Attawapiskat First Nation, Neskantaga First Nation, Moosonee First Nation, Fort Albany, Long Lake #58, and Ginoogaming First Nation, Kashechewan First Nation, Whitefish River, Attawapiskat First Nation, Nipissing First Nation, Wasauksing First Nation, Dokis First Nation, Grassy Narrows First Nation, and this year, Serpent River First Nation, Mississauga #8 First Nation, and Sagamok Anishnawbek. The list of beneficiaries from Webb’s Sports Giveaway is a long one and growing each year.
According to Webb, the giveaway program is one of the ways they give back to communities. The founders of this company are lifelong athletes and coaches.
“We are proud to support organizations that reflect our passion and commitment to the physical and mental well-being of children through our support of World Vision Canada, The Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK), and our Annual Sporting Equipment Drive for Aboriginal Communities in partnership with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and Aboriginal Police Bureau (APB),” the company said in a statement online.
At the event held in Serpent River First Nation, four personnel from the OPP, including Sergeant Gilles Lachance, Sergeant Chris Wesley, and Constable Francis Endanawas, were present to assist people in choosing the appropriate equipment helping with things like what size chest pad a child wears for hockey gear, as well as helping others with skate size and which set of golf clubs is best suited for the individual. East Algoma OPP Community Safety Officer and member of Mississauga #8 First Nation member Bev Gauthier was also present. Gauthier contacted the three First Nations letting them know of this event.
In their ongoing efforts to encourage sports and physical activities, Webb has reached its goal for 13 years of providing youth and children in numerous First Nations with the resources they need to encourage the love of sports and physical activities.
“Often, these remote areas do not have the access or the resources to obtain equipment,” according to Webb. “We work in partnership with the APB and OPP to identify communities in need of sporting equipment. We fund the full cost of equipment collection and delivery.”
Serpent River First Nation resident Diane Meawasige and her son Ray, like many other families, were grateful for the generosity of Webb’s sporting goods giveaway. Ray, a Grade 12 student in Elliot Lake, scooped up a full set of golf clubs just after the event started. He is looking forward to taking up the sport next summer before attending his first year of college. According to one of the officers present, all of the golf club sets came from the prestigious members-only Burlington Golf and Country Club.
“This generosity and thoughtfulness [of Webb] will give youth items that they might otherwise not have access to,” Lachance said in a press release from the OPP.
For many First Nations people, the primary purpose of sports other than the sheer pleasure and enjoyment of participating is to increase self-esteem, and to give youth a sense of commitment and a path to achieving an objective or goal.
Seven years ago in the Truth and Reconciliation Report, sport and recreation are identified as tools for social development to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
For more information or to participate in the Webb Sports Giveaway, contact Constable Francis Endanawas: francis.endanawas@opp.ca