Media Releases

April 16, 2008

KidSport Manitoba Gets Helps From Above – Geographically Speaking

Home is where the heart is – and KidSport Manitoba agrees.

Kidsport Manitoba recently received a donation from a unique event held at Canadian Forces Base Alert – a mere 600 km from the North Pole.

Corporal Jamie Upshall, a member of the Canadian Forces posted to Winnipeg and currently deployed in Alert, organized a 24-hour fundraising ball hockey tournament for the staff at the Alert Station.

A remote location was only one of the challenges Upshall faced but he was able to successfully run the event with great participation.

“We only have approximately 70 people at the station at any given time and with the high tempo of work to keep us going it's a big challenge to organize an event for that long” said Upshall.

There were also some circumstances not related to the event that had to be dealt with.

“It was very challenging because we had a cargo plane to unload at two in the morning and then a chopper had to go out for a rescue mission at 5 a.m.,” added Upshall “not your usual challenges when running a special event.”

Thanks to Corporal Upshall and the dedication of the participants, they were able to do something special for KidSport Manitoba.

“When it was all said and done, we off loaded a Hercules aircraft, completed a successful rescue mission and with people playing on their breaks and in between work hours we raised $1536.45 within 24 hours.”

Thanks to Corporal Jamie Upshall, Canadian Forces members stationed at Alert and Environment Canada personnel who made this donation possible, many more Manitoba kids in need will be able to take part in sport this year.

Job well done!

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For more information, contact

Tess Wilson
Provincial KidSport Manager
926-8351
Email