KidSport helps kids stay active.
But more and more, it’s also helping families stay financially afloat.
Chris Wilson, the director of KidSport Tri-Cities, said the organization is seeing an increase in applications for assistance to pay for registration fees and equipment from families where both parents are working.
“When I first started with KidSport in 2005, a typical applicant was a single mom, and now there are so many families that need help,” Wilson said.
In fact, a revamped application process that requires families to show their need by attaching their income tax assessment is showing more families that bring in $50,000 to $60,000 a year are having a hard time affording sports activities for their kids.
“They just can’t make ends meet,” Wilson said. “They’re working poor and they’re doing everything they can.”
A new study by the Angus Reid Institute bears out Wilson’s observations.
The study found almost one in three Canadians feel “very stressed” about money and 31% of parents can’t afford for their kids to participate in after-school sports or music activities.
That can have real implications on the health and well-being of children, according to another study released Tuesday by Children First Canada and the O’Brien Institute for Public Health. It found only 35% of five- to 17-year-olds in Canada are meeting the daily recommended guidelines for physical activity and 27.9% of children aged 12 to 17 years are reported to be overweight or obese.
Wilson said depriving kids of sports creates stress for the children that extends to the whole family, which can become isolated without the connections and support network which often develop along the sidelines.
“When kids join a team, the parents join, too,” Wilson said. “The family feels more connected to the community.”
That’s particularly true for new immigrants and families that have just moved to a community.
Wilson said sports can also be a way for a family to break out of the cycle of poverty as kids gain confidence and learn the skills and tools they need to achieve success beyond the field or arena.
“Ultimately, what we want is for the family to become more successful,” Wilson said.
• KidSport is holding its bi-annual used sporting goods sale Saturday, Sept. 8 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Poirier Forum, 618 Poirier St., Coquitlam. Admission is by donation or with items for the Share food bank. All proceeds go to help lower income families pay registration fees for kids.
