Donna Bartlett went to the Sport Chek outlet in Penticton seeking a donation for a raffle prize - and got a little more than she bargained for.
Bartlett was making the request on behalf of “Friends of the Rink,” a Keremeos based organization that does volunteer work and fundraising for the Simikameen Rec Centre. She was told by store officials that “they didn’t do that,” and gave her a contact number for a department within the Foranzi Group, owner of the Sport Chek brand.
Bartlett was asked a few questions, then told to fill out an on line application. A few days later, a Foranzi representative out of Calgary called to ask her to send “her whole wish list.”
On Wednesday, August 24, Sport Chek representatives from the Penticton store arrived at the Similkameen Rec Centre with a pick up truck loaded with hockey and skating equipment.
The largesse was made possible through Sport Chek’s “Power of Sport for Kids” program.
Community based, non profit groups can apply to the program, which provides sporting equipment with the primary focus of providing assistance to underprivileged, disadvantaged children between the ages of 5-18 years.
Equipment provided by Penticton Sport Chek included hockey and figure skates, protective gear, and goal nets. Several staff members from Sport Chek took time from their day off to be part of the presentation.