Blue Bombers make $50,000 donation to WASAC

There’s an obvious and tangible value to the recent $50,000 donation made by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre. It pays for critical programming and all the logistics around that come with a cost.

What is often less obvious are the intangibles that come from the benefits of the donation.

Late last month Blue Bombers President & CEO Wade Miller, offensive lineman Pat Neufeld and several club staff visited Southeast Collegiate in Winnipeg for a cheque presentation and to see how the donation is put into action through the after-school program that is so important to the students.

The collegiate was established in 1995 by the Southeast Tribal Council to help provide education and house students from rural communities like Bloodvein First Nation, Little Grand Rapids, Brokenhead, Pauingassi First Nation, Buffalo Point First Nation, Black River First Nation, Hollow Water, Berens River and Poplar River.

“We’re a pretty good option for a lot of these students and one of the things we try to attract them with is good recreation programming and for a number of years WASAC has been helping support that,” said Southeast Collegiate Principal David Brown. “It’s the after-school activities the students look forward to every week and it really helps our students build confidence.

“We’ve had athletes from the U of M, the Sea Bears and the Blue Bombers and the kids have so much fun. It’s a special experience for them. To see all these kids with big smiles on their faces, it’s important to see that and to see them coming out of their shell by trying something new. They get out of their comfort zone and having people around them to show them that putting themselves out there isn’t the worst thing in the world. That’s one of the most-important things for our students because they tend to be quite shy and it’s difficult for them to express themselves. This can help with their self-confidence.”

The donation from the football club came through the proceeds from the orange merchandise sales and orange jersey auction from the Blue Bombers’ now annual Orange Shirt Game, with this year’s game featuring a visit from the Ottawa RedBlacks on Saturday, September 27th. The Blue Bombers have long been a leader in Truth and Reconciliation, including being the first North American franchise to do territorial land acknowledgements in its pre-game ceremonies.

“We’re so honoured to get this generous donation from the Blue Bombers again this year,” said WASAC Executive Director Trevor Laforte. “We were discussing how we could reach more kids in our programs with this grant and Southeast just felt like a natural fit. We’ve taken kids to the Blue Bombers Orange Shirt games in September in the past and they’re so close to the stadium already. And then to have Mr. Miller and Pat Neufeld and all the Bomber staffers down to the Southeast facility, well, the kids just loved it.

“It’s just so important to have those programs. I can’t imagine being 13-16 years old and having to come to finish your high school studies from their different communities. It’s a tough gig, never mind dealing with all the pressures of high school. The after-school programs help them feel welcome in Winnipeg by getting them out to events at The Forks or Assiniboine Park and other events around the city. And then with the Blue Bombers have such a legacy and are such a fabric of Winnipeg and the province developing that partnership further was another natural fit.”

WASAC was founded in 1999 with two leaders providing programming to 40 Indigenous youth and has since grown to now servicing over 5,000 youth through various programs across the province. WASAC has used the funding from the Blue Bombers in the past to help with their summer camps — that will continue again this year — but opted to loop in Southeast Collegiate to help include more students.

“Being on site there recently at Southeast facility and seeing how excited the kids were to see the Bombers there and to see our WASAC youth leaders doing a fantastic job in providing the programming and being fantastic role models had me thinking, ‘I’ve got the best job in the world,'” said Laforte. “With a lot of our programs we build from within and most of our staff have been program participants in the past. So, to have Southeast kids take part is so important. A lot of them go back to their communities in the summer but any of them want to have them work with us or join our programs is just fantastic.

“Being a part of something like this and being able to provide quality programming to develop youth Indigenous leaders is the peak of the mountain and we wouldn’t be able to do it without great support from groups like the Blue Bombers.”