Games Legacy Fund awarded
By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on December 3, 2021.
Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Representatives of the organizations that received funds from the Lethbridge 2020 Alberta Summer Games Legacy Fund gathered at the Lethbridge Sports Council community room at the Nicholas Sheran Arena.LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com
The Lethbridge 2020 Alberta Summer Games Society announced on Wednesday the distribution of the 2020 Games Legacy Fund to 32 not-for-profit organizations.
The 2020 Games Legacy Fund is comprised of remaining casino funds generated by games volunteers and sponsorships that were donated to the legacy fund, after the decision was made to cancel the games due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Thirty-two sport, school, community, and cultural not-for-profits organizations have collectively been awarded $276,141.61.
“Our plan in the start was to develop games that we could build the Legacy Fund to do just what we’ve done today. To support all of the wonderful community organizations that create sporting events, cultural events and other events in our community,” said Rick Blakeley, president of the Alberta Summer Games 2020.
Among the recipients of the Legacy Fund was the Lethbridge Bicycle Moto-Cross Association with the largest amount disbursed of $40,000 which will be used for track upgrades.
“We received a very large donation today which was a complete surprise, a pleasant surprise and shock to us… and we are going to be using that for facility upgrades,” said Darren Williams, president of the Bicycle Moto-Cross Association.
He said they will be re-doing the asphalt on all the corners on their track to bring it up to standards as they will be holding a provincial event next summer.
“We can’t thank Lethbridge Sports Council enough for their support in making this happen, they are a great resource for all the sports in the community,” said Williams.
He added that without the funds received, they would not have been able to take care of the track updates, as most of their funding comes from donations and grants and membership fees would not cover a $40,000 improvement.
Another recipient with the second largest amount disbursed of $20,200, an amount based on the year 2020, was awarded to KidSport Lethbridge-Taber and it will be used to support the sport fee assistance program.
“This is a really big deal for us, this is going to help so many less fortunate kids be involved in and benefit from organized sports. It’s going to go a long way,” said Matt Neufeld, KidSport board member for southern Alberta.
Several local supporters have transferred their financial sponsorship in support of the 2020 Games Legacy Fund. Donors include the Hungarian Canadian Cultural Society, Lethbridge College, Cavendish Farms, MacKillop Insurance, Servus Credit Union, Westland Insurance, Wawanesa Insurance, Scotiabank, Allan Friesen-Silverberg Group, New West Truck Centres, CUPE 408, Diana Sim, Dominion Lending, Equitable Life of Canada, and Signature Dental.
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