Minto and Canadian Tire join forces for kids

Ottawa, Ontario - May 6, 2008

Local children in need are about to see a big boost in their access to organized sports and recreation, thanks to a $50,000 donation to the Canadian Tire JumpStart program from the Minto Group.

Today executives from the Minto Group met with officials from the Canadian Tire Foundation for Families to donate $50,000 to help fund the local chapter of the Canadian Tire JumpStart program. The program covers costs such as registration fees, transportation and equipment to help kids in financial need get active and participate in various sports and recreation activities like hockey, dance, soccer and swimming.

“This is the first gift of its size from a single business to Canadian Tire JumpStart in Ottawa. We are thrilled to know that an additional 500 children in Ottawa are going to get a chance to access sport and recreational activities that will help with their personal development,” said Dan Thompson, president, Canadian Tire Foundation for Families.

Minto and Canadian Tire share many of the same views when it comes to community building; they both believe that strong communities include strong kids. And they share many of the same customers in Ottawa. Therefore it was an ideal choice for Minto to make this gift to Canadian Tire JumpStart.  Roger Greenberg, CEO of the Minto Group, says, “We like to ensure that our donations are having the broadest impact possible and helping children is one of the key impact areas for our community investment activities.  Canadian Tire JumpStart is an established channel for linking children to sports - infrastructure that we just don’t have at Minto.  And we like the fact that every dollar raised for the program is going directly to fund the children’s participation.”

Ottawa Canadian Tire JumpStart Chapter Chair Dan Champagne says the funds from this particular donation will go to activities coordinated by service providers like the YMCA-YWCA, Parks and Recreation, and the Max Keeping Foundation.

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