So many valuable skills can be learned and improved by playing sports. Usually it starts at an early age, and in my case the sports were hockey and baseball.
Not being a hugely gifted athlete, I quickly learned that in order to excel I’d have to out-hustle, out-think and outwork competitors. That was where the results came from.
It’s a mentality I brought with me back in 1992 as a rookie collector at MetCredit.
And today, you see it in everything we do as a business. While I no longer have time to play a lot of hockey as President and CEO of three intensely busy companies, I’ve found some new ways to make an impact.
So far, MetCredit has donated $38,500 and helped 154 kids get into sports.
Since 2015, MetCredit has been donating monthly to KidSport: a Canada-wide grassroots organization that helps raise and distribute funds to families in their communities. Where I live, I work with the Alberta chapter, supported by over 300 volunteers in 38 communities.
There are tough days ahead for Kidsport, especially in Alberta where many of the usual donor companies and individuals are themselves hurting financially and haven’t been contributing their usual amount. Meanwhile, more families have lost or reduced incomes‚—and sports for the kids are often the first sacrifice to be made.
With the situation in Ukraine, people are distracted and many are donating (understandably) in areas much farther from home.
I continue to donate every month, and as of this writing MetCredit has donated $38,500 and helped 154 kids get into sports.
The kids who benefit truly come from all walks of life. According to the 2020 Kidsport Alberta annual report, that included 5,485 girls, 1,426 indigenous children, 126 kids with disabilities and 1,764 boys and girls who are new Canadians. That’s a diverse crowd, and in areas of significant need. Probably never more so than in the coming months.
Kidsport Executive Director Greg Ingalls has helped me understand the impact made by our donations, helping kids get into soccer, hockey, dance, martial arts, gymnastics, basketball, football, skating, swimming and lacrosse.
“By providing these kids access to sport programs together we are strengthening communities across Alberta,” Mr. Ingalls says. “Brian and MetCredit should be very proud of the impact that their contribution has made over the years.”
We are proud, and even more so of the kids taking the initiative to push themselves harder, develop new skills, use their bodies to stay healthy, and get out of the house and away from electronic devices on a consistent basis.
This isn’t just something MetCredit and I can do. I encourage YOU to consider making a regular donation in support of kids who otherwise will not be able to experience the lifelong value of sports.
As we all continue venturing out from our COVID-19 cocoons, it is most important that kids have safe, productive activities—even if their parents lack the means to provide organized sports without assistance.
ESPECIALLY in those cases. If you are serious about the next generation’s success and proactively keeping crime and drug overdose rates low, this is an opportunity to make a very tangible difference. Kids in sport have an outlet, a routine, positive social connections, motivation—and hope.
If you’re interested in donating, it’s easy. Just click through to the Kidsport website right now, and get started. Don’t let it slide.
And if you are reading this with concern for kids in your own life who are at risk of missing out on sports, you should apply for a grant. There’s absolutely zero shame in it—in fact I’m thinking of kids in that situation every time I donate. Their success is what every donor wants.
MetCredit and I can only do so much on our own, but together we can harness the power of sport for a better tomorrow. I truly believe that.
President and CEO of MetCredit, Canada's top-performing consumer and commercial collection agency
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