'Make it more accessible': Walk-a-thon raises awareness about importance of youth sports
Montreal sports lovers came together Saturday in the NDG borough to raise awareness about the importance of youth sports when it comes to mental health and community connection.
At the Power of Sports Walk-a-Thon, young athletes strolled alongside the likes of Alouettes quarterback coach Anthony Calvillo and pro basketball player Tevonn Walker.
The event raised over $125,000.
The funds will go to Montreal Community Cares, an organization that promotes youth sports, most known for its Red Rush basketball program.
Tevonn Walker has long been involved with Montreal Community Cares, joining the program when he was just 12 years old.
Since then, he's travelled the world playing basketball, and he credits community sports for making him the person he is today.
"When one door closes, a lot of people don't have any outlets to turn to," he told CTV News. "This program helps you make those doors open, build those relationships, and then all of a sudden you have choices, you have opportunity."
He hopes youth in NDG will have the same opportunities that were given to him through sports.
"Playing with Red Rush was kind of, was a way for me to build a family outside of my home."
RISE IN TEEN VIOLENCE
Sports were one of the first activities to be shut down when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Advocates say its ripple effects have been disastrous, with the province witnessing a sharp rise in youth violence.
Montreal saw at least five teens killed in youth-related violence over the past year and a half.
Volleyball plater Théjah Tavarez, who is a teen herself, said she and her friends are still healing.
"During the pandemic, a lot of teenagers started doing gang violence, guns shooting, all of that," she said.
"It was very emotionally tiring because I know we can be better than that."
In response to the violence, the City of Montreal has invested more than $7 million into youth programming and sports.
Denburk Reid, founder of Montreal Community Cares, wants the existed facilities to be renovated and, more importantly, for the programming to be made financially accessible to families.
"It's not about building something," he said."Rejuvenate a gym [...] but open it up to the community."
"Just make it more accessible."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.