KidSport month got off to a chilly start in Prince Albert Thursday.
Dwight Bergstrom exiled himself, once again, to a scissor lift, despite blowing rain and bitter wind, in an effort to raise $4,000 for the program, which helps fund sports registration fees for less fortunate children.
“(Prince Albert)is doing pretty well,” Bergstrom said Thursday afternoon.
“It’d be cool today if we could top this up to $4,000 or more. I’m more than happy to spend the night for the cause because it’s a good one.”
That mark, $4k, was what it would have taken for Bergstrom to stay the night on the scissor lift, fully decked out in a tent and other warm camping gear.
Unfortunately, this year, the donations didn’t quite hit the mark.
Still, the funding is appreciated.
“We can certainly use it. The demand for funding the kids we support is continually increasing, and there are times of the year we run out of money and have to tell kid we can’t fund them into sport,” Bergstrom said.
‘That’s a sad day for us at KidSport when that happens. (The donations) are certainly worth it. When you see those kids get a chance to be in sports, it’s easily worth it.”
Anyone who missed their opportunity to contribute last Thursday still has a few more chances.
The second annual KidSport Corporate Challenge takes place May 10 at the Alfred Jenkins Field House. Teams of six will compete for prizes in various sports, races and activities. Team registration is still open, and 12 teams have pre-registered for this year’s events.
Tickets are also on sale for KidSPort Steak Night on May 22 at Tartan table in downtown Prince Albert. It includes live entertainment by 2 Speed Axel. Tickets are available at the Tartan Table and the City of Prince Albert office in the Art Hauser Centre.
May is KidSport month across Saskatchewan. Province-wide, the charity helped 12,703 kids participate in 49 sports last year. It has assisted more than 140,00 kids since coming to Saskatchewan in 1995.
In Prince Albert, $109,742 was invested back into the community by KidSport last year, with contributions coming from fundraisers and the national KidSpot fund. A total of 399 kids benefited from the program, with the top funding going to hockey, followed by soccer, martial arts, gymnastics and canoeing.
All of the funds raised by the Prince Albert chapter stay in the community.
For more information, visit kidsport.ca/sk.
