Empowering Indigenous youth: One hockey team's mission
What started as a hockey team wanting to make a difference for local Indigenous youth years ago turned into a massive nationwide endeavour.
A local organization in Barrie is hosting an annual hockey bag drive to collect hockey equipment for Indigenous communities across Canada.
Inspired by the first hockey drive in 2015, there have since been numerous drives, each growing larger than the last, where equipment is accumulated and donated to multiple Indigenous communities in Ontario.
"What started as eight bags and 20 sticks for one community 10 years ago is growing exponentially," said Graham Mcwaters, the founder and organizer of the Indigenous Hockey Equipment Drive. "We've been getting out a lot of equipment at the beginning of the year; we went all the way to Manitoba, up north of Ontario."
The equipment was first delivered to Beausoleil First Nation on Christian Island. Since then, the organization has delivered 100 bags and 200 sticks to Indigenous members in Behchoko, Northwest Territories and communities northwest of Yellowknife.
McWaters will host a hockey drive to collect 1,000 hockey bags for Indigenous communities.
"We know that hockey is very cost-prohibited, and we know that some of these remote communities and some of the communities we're supporting might not be able to afford this hockey equipment, so we gather it and give it to these communities," shared Mcwaters.
The drive is in collaboration with Barrie Police Services, Simcoe Paramedic Services, Barrie Minor Hockey Association, Barrie Women's Hockey Association, and National Training Rinks Barrie.
The drive will be held at AMJ Self Storage at 100 Saunders Road in Barrie from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
"We're putting kids into such a healthy environment, health and wellness. It's all about that, and helping the young children in Indigenous communities," concluded Mcwaters.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
2 died in plane crash near Squamish, B.C., police confirm
Two people died after a plane went down in a remote area near Squamish, B.C. on Friday, authorities have confirmed.
After more than 100 years, Newfoundland's unknown soldier returns home
An unknown Newfoundland soldier, who fought and died on the battlefields in northeastern France during the First World War, is back home this weekend for the first time in more than a hundred years.
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Indianapolis 500 starts after 4-hour rain delay with Kyle Larson in the field
The Indianapolis 500 started Sunday after a rain delay of four hours with NASCAR star Kyle Larson still at the track and in the race.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.