LAST WEEK TO DOUBLE YOUR DONATION: Support the Sport for Life Centre Campaign

VIEW NEW FACILITY DESIGNS

GET YOUR DONATION DOUBLED IN MAY: To our entire Manitoba Basketball Community,

Thank you for your continued support of Basketball Manitoba. Your support has ensured that Sport Manitoba and all the different sport organizations can continue to make a difference in the lives of children and adults across the province. I’m writing to ask you to consider a donation to help complete the Sport for Life Centre and improve basketball training and accessibility in Manitoba. I hope you’ll join me in supporting this project. I believe this is a milestone for sport and for our community and I hope you feel the same way.

We are excited to be entering a new era in provincial sport with our Sport for Life Centre on Pacific Avenue in Winnipeg. With this centre, Sport Manitoba is dramatically increasing its reach and impact. Phase I is now open and Phase II, a training centre, is in the final stages of design. You may already be familiar with Phase 1 of the Sport for Life Centre. You may have been here to visit the Basketball Manitoba office, register for a program, attend a meeting, see a physical therapist or take a course. This facility has dramatically improved the services we can offer.

When both phases are open, it will be the first of its kind in Canada. It will combine sport expertise, training space, exercise and sport facilities, therapeutic space, research capabilities and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in one central location. It will provide us with a seamless transition between training, coaching, testing and therapy, which is a first in Canada.

We are excited to announce we are now very close to the construction of the training centre!

The second phase of the Centre will be an important legacy for the 2017 Canada Summer Games and it will enhance our high-performance programs, enlarge the sport-medicine centre and allow us to accommodate more athletes, coaches and programs.

As you may know, Sport Manitoba recently started a community campaign with the goal of raising $8 million from the private sector. This will allow construction to begin in the fall so we can help train Manitoba's athletes for the Canada Games.

The good news is $6.8 million has already been raised and, between now and the end of May 2014, the Richardson Foundation is matching all donations and pledges to help build the centre dollar for dollar.

We need the support of those in our basketball community. Basketball Manitoba hopes to become an "anchor tenant" for Phase II, using it for Provincial Team and Centre for Performance training, youth and adult basketball games with the WMBA and other adult recreational leagues. Beyond basketball, the training centre will be open for you to use. It will also provide programming for local schools, inner-city kids, community groups, amateur sport teams and elite athletes.

We are requesting your commitment by the end of May 2014. You can make your payments over the next 3 years, monthly or annually. All contributions are tax deductible and your gift will be celebrated on our donor wall or can be anonymous. Given your commitment to amateur sport, I’m asking you to consider pledging your support by May 31 so that you can take advantage of this matching opportunity to have your support doubled.

The Centre will bring more people into our sport, improve our training year-round and help marginalized youth get involved in sport. Basketball Manitoba is 100% behind this project. We hope that you will choose to support it as well. We need your support - do it today and we will all benefit for years to come!

Please join me in financially supporting this legacy project. Make your tax-deductible, matching donation at http://www.sportforlifecentre.ca

Thank you for caring about sport and our communities!

Sincerely,

Ross Wedlake
President
Basketball Manitoba

Please help the Sport for Life Centre cross the finish line! Every dollar you give will be matched if you donate by May 30, 2014. Donate at http://www.sportforlifecentre.ca

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How Does the Sport for Life Centre Benefit Basketball?

In this CTV Winnipeg interview with Shawn Churchill, Adam Wedlake, Executive Director for Basketball Manitoba explains how the Sport for Life Centre expansion will help build basketball in our province:

“For us it’s a game changer” explained Wedlake. “Our programs don’t have a home. We beg, borrow and steal. To have our home base right here, never mind to have three gymnasium spaces”, said Wedlake. “To also have the resources attached to it like athletic therapy and physical testing and training opportunities that are available as a support piece. It’s not just a gym. It’s all the pieces we need to bring our sport to the next level.”

Additional Information

Phase 2

Phase 2 is an 80,000+sq foot build-out that adds a multi-use training centre featuring

multi-purpose area, including three full convertible court spaces and areas for individual sports, fitness conditioning, and workshops
training/wellness track for sport and community use
strength, conditioning and testing areas
aerobic training centre
plyometric testing area

We are motivated to get a shovel in the ground on this innovative and unique project so we can put these new spaces to work for our athletes and coaches at all levels.
Capital Campaign

Sport Manitoba launched a capital campaign to complete the Sport for Life Centre. The Richardson Foundation has generously offered a $500,000 matching donation. Every tax-deductible donation given now until May 30, 2014 will be matched, effectively doubling the impact.

Those impacts include:

Introducing sport to an under-served community
Increasing participation in community-level sports
Developing Manitoba’s athletes
Developing our sport leaders & coaches
Educating our youth
Celebrating our sport heroes
Improving our health
Supporting sport research
Creating a legacy

When both phases are up and running, the Sport of Life Centre will be used by you and another 400,000 people every year. That’s an incredible impact on our province.

Why Should You Donate?

Because whatever your interest in sport, the Sport for Life Centre will provide something meaningful to your life. 92% of Canadians believe that community-based sport can be a positive influence in the lives of children and youth. Canadians rank sport second only to families as a highly positive influence in the lives of young people and 72% of Canadians believe sport is a major contributor to quality of life in their communities (True Sport Report 2008).

Community sport is woven into the fabric of virtually every community in Canada. It helps to strengthen our community by building social capital, helping newcomers to integrate more quickly, and fostering greater inclusion of people with disabilities. In our youth, sport enhances academic achievement, teaches positive values and life skills, prevents youth crime and gang involvement and empowers girls.

Please help the Sport for Life Centre cross the finish line! Every dollar you give will be matched if you donate by May 30, 2014. Donate at http://www.sportforlifecentre.ca