FUTURES
1UIVtV
1UIVtV
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Pioneering<br />
AFTER-SCHOOL<br />
SUPPORT<br />
50 YEARS WITH SEARS<br />
28 th Annual Sears<br />
Golf Tournament<br />
Since 1987, the annual Sears Golf<br />
Tournament has made a tremendous<br />
impact on the lives of young people.<br />
This volunteer initiative is organized<br />
by Sears Canada employees and<br />
supported by Sears and its suppliers<br />
and has been a significant source of<br />
support, year after year.<br />
This year, the one-day event<br />
raised $500,000 to help ensure that<br />
Boys and Girls Clubs continue to be<br />
recognized leaders in after-school<br />
programming in Canada.<br />
ot long after they began<br />
retailing in Canada, Sears<br />
decided to support quality,<br />
after-school programs<br />
delivered by Boys and Girls<br />
Clubs across the country.<br />
This year marks the 50th anniversary<br />
of the partnership with Boys and<br />
Girls Clubs of Canada. Over the past<br />
five decades, Sears Canada and its<br />
employees, customers and suppliers<br />
have donated an incredible $15 million to<br />
give children and youth in underserved<br />
neighbourhoods safe, fun and inspiring<br />
after-school environments.<br />
As most Canadian families have both<br />
parents working outside the home,<br />
the hours between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.<br />
are a critical time for children. A lot of<br />
unsupervised, unproductive time can<br />
undermine a child’s social development<br />
and school achievement. Young people<br />
home alone may feel lonely, afraid<br />
and anxious and older children can be<br />
influenced by peers to take part in risky,<br />
dangerous activities.<br />
Quality after-school programs can<br />
have a profound impact on a child but<br />
ensuring every child gets the most out of<br />
after-school hours requires a communitywide,<br />
coordinated effort.<br />
The Sears After-School Enhancement<br />
Grants program gives Clubs the flexibility<br />
to tailor programs to local needs<br />
and provide the right combination of<br />
recreation, arts and learning along with<br />
healthy snacks and a welcoming Club<br />
experience. The grants are provided<br />
annually to Clubs.<br />
In 1997, Sears Canada and BGCC<br />
produced Excellence in Action, a guide<br />
to best practices in after-school services<br />
and in 2000, a million copies of Does This<br />
Ring a Bell? (an after-school program<br />
resource for parents) were distributed by<br />
Sears stores and Boys and Girls Clubs.<br />
In these and many other ways, Sears<br />
has helped Clubs provide working parents<br />
with peace of mind while enriching young<br />
lives with access to structured learning<br />
and organized sports and recreation. The<br />
longstanding partnership with Boys and<br />
Girls Clubs of Canada has touched tens of<br />
thousands of families across the country.<br />
Helping Canadian families is a companywide<br />
value. In addition to financial support,<br />
Sears Canada employees have dedicated<br />
countless hours of volunteer time to<br />
Boys and Girls Clubs at every rung of the<br />
corporate ladder, starting at the top.<br />
At the national level, a senior Sears<br />
executive has served on BGCC’s Board<br />
of Directors every year since 1965. That<br />
level of commitment has in turn been<br />
generously replicated at the local Club<br />
level by Sears employees across Canada.<br />
Sears employee volunteers see firsthand<br />
that the partnership with Boys and<br />
Girls Clubs of Canada provides essential<br />
programs in a caring environment to<br />
inspire and support children to succeed.<br />
Thank you, Sears Canada, for 50 years<br />
of helping young Canadians reach their<br />
full potential.<br />
bgccan.com FALL 2015 5
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