Nomads Rugby Receives MLSE Foundation 2021 Community Action Grant

Nomads Rugby is delighted to have been recently announced as 1 of 24 recipients of a MLSE Foundation 2021 Community Action Grant. Over 250 organizations submitted applications for funding this year, from which 24 were selected. For a list of all 2021 Community Action Grant recipients click here. 

 

Nomads Rugby received a grant of $50,000 for the purpose of providing children and youth, who would not otherwise have the opportunity, to participate in organized sport and enjoy the rugby club experience with the chance to do so, over 3 years. We call this program Nomads Rugby’s Spirit of Youth Rugby. 

 

In August 2021, a portion of the grant was used to deliver two free 1-week-long Spirit of Youth Rugby camps for children and youth aged from 6 to 16 at Eglinton Flats. The camps were delivered in partnership with the Toronto Inner-City Foundation (TIRF) and, despite the short lead time, were a huge success with over 100 kids registered and a very high reported satisfaction level. 

 

“It is an honour and a privilege for Nomads Rugby to be selected as a recipient of a 2021 MLSE Foundation Community Action Grant,” said Ross Pinkerton, President of Nomads Rugby. “As Nomads Rugby transitions to being a community rugby club, programs such as Spirit of Youth Rugby enable us to make our rugby programming more accessible to children and youth in Toronto’s west-end, regardless of their economic circumstances. MLSE Foundation’s support means we can implement community outreach and offer quality rugby programs to children and youth who would otherwise not be able to participate”.

 

Launched in 2016, MLSE Foundation’s Community Action Grant program provides up to $50,000 to Ontario-based organizations that are using sport and recreation to build healthy communities by advancing outcomes in physical health, mental health, academic achievement, and work readiness, with Black and Indigenous youth as priority demographics. Over the past 10 years, MLSE Foundation has raised and invested more than $45 million into Ontario communities.

 

To view MLSE Foundations’ full press release here.