Published September 28, 2023 at 3:59 PM ET
Updated in September. November 28, 2023 at 8:15 PM ET
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A mentorship program that connects Olympic athletes with children in schools across the country is set to get a major funding boost aimed at closing educational gaps and empowering young minds.
Classroom Champions, a leading education non-profit, has secured $3.6 million in funding from 23 companies in Western Canada they call the Energizing Community Collective.
Steve Missler is the CEO and co-founder of Classroom Champions, which now works with millions of students across North America by facilitating video lessons and interactive conversations with athletes.
The gold medalist for the US bobsled team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver says this investment will encourage digital literacy and provide high-impact educational resources to underserved communities.
“It’s going to be huge. A big part of what Classroom Champions wants to do moving forward is move into a lot of Indigenous classrooms…First Nations across Canada and the United States, so a lot of that funding is going toward this initiative,” he said.
“These schools often have a lot of kids who are already facing more challenges than other kids and maybe don’t have the opportunities themselves to love or play sports, or don’t even know they exist. So, even just getting it out there and being able to support them is really important.”
Missler says a partnership is already in place with the Siksika Nation, where a pilot project is underway to create animations for elders’ stories and bring in Indigenous athletes to inspire the next generation.
“Siksika Nation is our partner to help us think about not only how to adapt our curriculum… but how to do that with other First Nations communities across the country,” he said.
One athlete now giving back to these communities is Team Canada speed skater Allison Desmarais.
The 2026 Winter Olympics hopeful lives and trains in Calgary, but is originally from Vanderhoof, British Columbia, and is of Métis descent.
She has been conducting regular classes and seasonal video calls with students from Chief Old Sun School and Chief Crowfoot School on the Siksika Nation.
“My favorite part is connecting with the students throughout the year. You get to see them learn and grow and I never thought kids would encourage and inspire me to keep getting through the tough times, but this has truly been my experience.” She said.
Desmarais says the video chats she has with students help build the next generation’s confidence in learning environments inside and outside the classroom.
“Through Classroom Champions, we talk a lot about social and emotional learning skills, so setting goals is huge. Perseverance is huge, along with community engagement,” she said.
“These are all lessons I obviously learned through sports, but then we make those connections to everyday life.”
This latest funding is set to provide new digital literacy learning opportunities for tens of thousands of students and teachers across Western Canada.
between the Companies that contributed $3.6 million They are ARC Resources Ltd., Crescent Point Energy, Headwater Exploration Inc., Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Spartan Delta Corp., Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. and Tourmaline Oil Corp.
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