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A grassroots, school-based
program that teaches students the value of community contribution
by working together to raise funds for athletes with Olympic
aspirations.
One of my fondest memories of the
summer of 2004 was the shared experience of watching the Olympics
on TV for the first time with my 7 year-old son, Aidan. It was
a real thrill to cheer on the Canadian athletes together because
we felt such an emotional bond to our fellow citizens as they
competed on the world stage.
I was also dismayed by all of the angst around the performance
of the Canadian team. The blame for the perceived poor performances
was usually placed on the inadequate funding our athletes receive
from the government and other sources.
It occurred to me that schools across Canada could “adopt”
aspiring Olympic athletes and raise funds to offset their training.
The benefit to the teachers and students in these schools is
that they could use their participation in the “adoption”
of, and fundraising for, the athletes as a means for enhancing
the teaching of traditional subjects and as an exciting way
to get students involved in contributing to their communities
at an early age. I also thought it could help foster a national
will to provide more support for aspiring Olympians because
Canadians would be exposed – on a day-to-day basis rather
than for just three weeks every couple of years – to the
real commitment and sacrifice it takes for our athletes to compete
at the international level.
This is how the Adopt An Athlete program was born. I shared
the idea with a few friends, who all wanted to be involved.
I then shared the idea with the principal and a couple of teachers
at my son's school and they, too, were quite enthusiastic about
bringing this program to life. What started as a project in
my son's school is now being expanded into a national foundation.
Ian Chamandy |
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New
Schools wanted from across Canada!
Are you involved in the education system as a teacher, principal,
trustee or parent?
Are you interested in bringing Adopt an Athlete into your
schools?
Click below to download everything you need to know about
becoming an Adopt an Athlete school.
PDF
- English 1.8 MB
PDF
- French 2.8 MB
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Adopted
Athlete Paul Rosen
Click here to hear Shelagh Rogers
of CBC’s “Sounds Like Canada” interview
Ian Chamandy and Paralympian and adopted athlete Paul Rosen. |
Thank you for your support...
Special thanks to Lori-Ann Muenzer
whose path to gold in Athens was the inspiration for this
foundation.
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Also, special thanks to
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