Thanks to our incredible community, our Boats for All campaign closed on Monday, raising $15,657! This campaign had 72 donors, the highest amount of support we’ve seen in a campaign and beat our goal of $15,000, allowing us to purchase at least 10 touring boats that will be used at this year’s National Championships in Nova Scotia. This fleet of accessible boats will stay with the Host Division as a legacy to promote programming in the area for PaddleAll competitors, our program for those with intellectual disabilities.

“You have truly supported us in building the Paddle All/Special Olympic programming for this nation-wide initiative. Our athletes will have boats that they will be proud to paddle in because of your generosity,” said LA Schmidt, Commodore. “Thank you, Canoe Kayak donors from across Canada.  We are building our Paddle All program through your generous donations and the matching assistance from First Lake Solutions – thank you all so much. When we work together as a team, great things happen!”

A special thank you to First Lake Solutions who came forward with a matching challenge that helped us surpass our goal!

“First Lake would like to thank all of the donors for their generosity in making this campaign a success,” said Rob LeForte, Founder of First Lake Solutions. “We applaud CKC for taking the initiative to make canoe kayak accessible to people from all backgrounds.”

Our sincerest gratitude in helping us create an inclusive and welcoming community for all paddlers and creating a legacy for years to come.

UPDATE!

Thanks to your support, we’ve raised just over a third of our goal for our Boat For All campaign! We are excited to announce that we will be extending the campaign thanks to First Lake Solutions who has come forward with a matching challenge to help us reach our goal of $15,000. For every donation made in the next 2 weeks, First Lake Solutions will match it 100% up to $5,000. Please consider supporting our goal to make our sport more accessible to ALL athletes.

Canoe Kayak Canada is thrilled to launch Boats for All  – a campaign to ensure our races at National Championships are inclusive for all while growing the sport across the country!

With your help, we want to raise $15,000 to purchase a fleet of accessible boats that will be used at this year’s National Championships that will then stay with the Host Division as a legacy to promote programming in the area for those with intellectual disabilities in our PaddleAll program.

WHAT IS PADDLEALL?

CKC’s PaddleALL programming encourages athletes with intellectual disabilities to train and race to be their best in sport. This program provides high-quality training and competition opportunities to all athletes, regardless of ability, and is important for the growth of this sport and for the paddling community. Boats for All will leave a legacy for the future of PaddleAll Programming in Canada., it will also contribute to the global goal of inclusivity within the sport of paddling. It will promote canoeing as a fully inclusive sport as represented by the recent signing of an agreement with Special O International to promote the development of canoeing in the Special O World Games.

THE CAMPAIGN

Our mission is that every region across the country will have the standardized equipment that meets Special Olympics rules and regulations to be inclusive for all. In achieving this, we are providing legacy resources so Divisions can grow their Special Olympics/PaddleAll  programming. Each year the region that will be targeted to receive this equipment will be the Host Division of the Sprint National Championships.

As a continuously progressive National Sport Organization (NSO), Canoe Kayak Canada (CKC) makes every effort for our sport to be accessible to all athletes, with a vision to increase our international opportunities for our PaddleAll and Special Olympics athletes. One of our main values is inclusion, and we pride ourselves in ensuring that our activities strive to be as inclusive as possible.

Currently, CKC provides opportunities for athletes with intellectual disabilities at our Sprint National Championships under our PaddleAll program. Many regions and clubs provide great programming for our athletes and have those athletes compete at our National Championships.

One of our biggest challenges in the continued success of this event is to ensure we have enough boats of the same type so that races are fair for all participants. Our Tourist class singles event is an event where athletes may not all use the same equipment at their clubs, but at Nationals Championships we need to guarantee they have the same access to equipment so the race is as fair as possible across the field.

These boats are versatile and can be used for many uses at a club, not just for PaddleAll programming. They will open up opportunities for everyone to try paddling and can be used in many introductory programs.

MAKE A DONATION HERE

THE GOAL

To ensure our races at National Championships are inclusive for all and to grow the sport across the country, we want to raise $15,000 to purchase a fleet of accessible boats that will be used at this year’s National Championships that will then stay with the Host Division as a legacy to promote programming in the area for PaddleAll competitors, our program for those with intellectual disabilities.

THE DETAILS

• Funds raised as a result of this campaign will go directly towards the purchase of 10 touring boats for the Atlantic Division to be used at the 2023 Sprint National Championships and left as a legacy for PaddleAll races in the Atlantic Division
• ADCKC will manage the use of these 10 boats in their region
• Contributions to the campaign over $20 are eligible for a tax receipt (please note that receipts will be issued post campaign)

ABOUT CKC’S PHILANTHROPIC INITIATIVES

Paddling is for all Canadians, whether they paddle for the leaf or for the sport.

We must continue our legacy – to ensure that paddling is available to everyone across our land so that they can experience our country in a way like no other. Paddling connects us to our history. But we’re at risk of not being able to pass down its rich tradition.

There is a crisis in sport funding in Canada. One of the major barriers in access to, promotion of, and programming in paddling is a lack of funding. But thanks to the generosity of Canadians, we can continue supporting paddling at all levels and disciplines within the sport. You can help us build paddling in Canada by making a tax-deductible charitable gift.

For the sport. For the leaf.