Bauer donates $500,000 in equipment to Jumpstart to help get even more kids in the game

TORONTO, Jan. 10, 2015 /CNW/ - Today, Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities (Jumpstart) and Bauer Hockey announced that they will work together to get more kids geared up and into organized hockey. A supporter of Jumpstart Charities and its mission to get kids from low-income families into the sport of their dreams, as well as a long-standing supporter of grass roots hockey in Canada, Bauer Hockey is donating $500,000 worth of hockey equipment to Jumpstart. A $100,000 donation made today marks the first of five which will be made over the next five years. 

A number of Jumpstart-supported community programs across Canada will receive head-to-toe hockey equipment from Bauer Hockey, including the Scadding Court Community Centre hockey league in Toronto. Approximately 50 sets of hockey equipment, including jerseys, were donated to kids at the community centre and a new youth hockey league will be established geared at teens who are new to the game. 

"Jumpstart gets kids off the sidelines and into sports and we believe that helps build confidence and leadership skills, while having fun. We are proud to be working with Bauer to get even more kids into minor hockey," says Landon French, Executive Director, Jumpstart Charities.

"Since Bauer Hockey was founded in Ontario in 1927, we've been helping to advance the game for the entire hockey community, whether it's the elite travel player or new-to-hockey players looking to try the sport," said Darryl Hughes, Marketing Director, Bauer Hockey.  "We're proud to partner with Jumpstart because they provide a unique and expansive national network that allows us to maximize the impact of our donation and get the most kids on the ice trying hockey, getting exercise and having fun."

"My grandson has been participating in the hockey program at Scadding Court for the past two years – he loves going to the program weekly and he hates to be late or ever miss a day," says Janet Denault, grandmother and sole caregiver, Scadding Court Jumpstart program participant. "Through the program, he has become more independent and he feels more confident about himself. There is no way that I could afford to put him in a hockey program or take him anywhere else to play and I know he will be over the moon about having his own brand new set of hockey equipment."

About Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities
Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities is a national charity dedicated to providing kids from low-income families with the opportunity to experience the benefits of organized sports and physical activities. With an extensive, national network of more than 330 local chapters, Jumpstart helps kids in communities across Canada by assisting with the costs associated with registration, equipment and/or transportation.

Supported by the Canadian Tire Family of Companies, which includes Canadian Tire, PartSource, Gas+, Sport Chek, Atmosphere, National Sports, Sports Experts, Mark's and Canadian Tire Financial Services, Jumpstart has enabled more than 890,000 Canadian kids and counting to get in the game since 2005.

Follow Jumpstart on Twitter and Facebook to learn about how the charity is giving kids across Canada a sporting chance or call 1-844-YES-PLAY for more information.

About Bauer Hockey
Bauer Hockey is the world's leading designer, developer, manufacturer and marketer of ice hockey equipment. Founded in Kitchener, Ontario in 1927, the Company developed the first skate with a blade attached to a boot, forever changing the game of hockey. Since then, Bauer Hockey has continued to develop the most innovative products in the industry, including the widely successful SUPREME®, VAPOR® and NEXUS® lines of products.  Performance Sports Group Ltd., the parent company of Bauer Hockey, is a publicly-traded company on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange whose affiliates market products under the BAUER, MISSION, MAVERIK, CASCADE, INARIA, COMBAT and EASTON brand names.  For more information visit Bauer Hockey's website at www.Bauer.com.

SOURCE Canadian Tire Jumpstart

Image with caption: "Bauer Hockey announces $500,000 equipment donation over five years to Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities to get children across Canada, including kids from Toronto’s Scadding Court Community Centre, outfitted and into hockey. Bauer’s Darryl Hughes, Jumpstart’s Landon French and Scadding Court’s Kevin Lee celebrated the occasion with the community. (CNW Group/Canadian Tire Jumpstart)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150110_C6927_PHOTO_EN_10086.jpg