CALGARY– Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Education Endowment Campaign has received the backing of the Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, 18^th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta and the Campaign’s Honourary Chair.

The goal of Education Endowment Campaign is to raise $8 million. This will ensure the education resources developed within Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame’s Beyond the Win Education Programs reach more classrooms and create more connections to students across the country at no cost to educators.

Beyond the Win uses sport to teach, share new perspectives, celebrate differences, and inspire young Canadians to dream big. Studies have found direct correlations between sport participation and student success, suggesting 95 per cent of Fortune 500 CEOs have played organized sport beyond high school, and 96 per cent of high school dropouts did not play organized sport.

“Playing a sport not only leads to better physical health, improved decision-making, stronger mental and emotional well-being, it inspires a greater ability to engage with the world. Most importantly, it teaches us to be supportive and inspiring teammates to those around us,” said Mitchell, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, serving in the role from 2015-2020.

Passionate for sport, and team sport in particular, Mitchell studied Physical Education at the University of British Columbia where she met and eventually married Calgary sport legend Doug Mitchell.

“I believe the most profound attribute we learn through sport is adaptability. You learn quickly from winning and losing to assess and ask yourself what went well, and what you could have improved upon. That’s a great skill to learn for everything in life. Every game you play there’s something you can learn,” she said.

As Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame undergoes a move of its artifacts, shifting towards a focus on connecting communities by bringing the nation’s sport history into the classroom, the Education Endowment Campaign was launched in June 2022 with the goal of raising $8 million.

In her role as Honourary Chair, Mitchell brings her breadth and depth of experience in education, business, and volunteerism, as well as her background in public service, to support the campaign’s success at all levels. 

“Sport simply has the power to change the world. It provides friendships. It improves health. It educates all of us, and it brings communities together from around the world regardless of background,” said Cheryl Bernard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. “Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame believes our nation’s youth deserve to be inspired, empowered and encouraged by the stories, lessons and experiences gained through the personal journeys of our Hall of Famers. Providing school children in Canada with access to educational programs through Beyond the Win is critical to embed life’s values of fairness, team building, equality, inclusion, along with physical and mental health into the classrooms while amplifying stories around resilience and leadership. We are grateful to the Honourable Lois E. Mitchell for helping us find the resources to deliver this much needed program for more schools across Canada.”

Beyond the Win and the endowment campaign will also receive a funding boost as beneficiaries of next week’s events celebrating the 2022 Class of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame inductees. Adam Van Koeverden, Brian Williams, Dwayne De Rosario, Edward Lennie, Hayley Wickenheiser, John Tavares, Tim McIsaac, Tricia Smith, the Chatham Coloured All-Stars, and the Preston Rivulettes will be honoured on October 6, 2022, in Toronto at the 66^th Annual Order of Sport Awards presented by Everest.

For more information on the Beyond the Win and the Endowment Campaign, please visit beyondthewin.ca.

About Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame is a registered charitable organization and has been a vital cultural institution in Canada for over 66 years. As Canada’s only national museum of sport, the organization’s focus is on recognition, education, curation and thought leadership with an emphasis on educating youth on the values, history and culture of sport in this country. These four pillars help to support and celebrate Canada’s sport heroes who have reached the pinnacle of their careers and are going “beyond the win” and making monumental contributions to our society. 

Over 700 Hall of Famers have been inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame since its establishment in 1955 and as of 2019, the Order of Sport, Canada’s highest sporting honour, is awarded as part of Induction to Canada’s top athletes and builders for their ongoing role in building Canada through the transformative power of sport. 

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For further information, please contact:

Chris Dornan

403.620.8731

hpprchris@shaw.ca