Like many sports teams, Traffic Ultimate faced Covid-19 restrictions that put a halt to their season in early 2020. So the Vancouver-based team decided to use this off-field time to learn about a subject that affects us all – racism. They began with a racial awareness discussion that delved into self-awareness and anti-racism. Over the months they dug deeper and shared their learnings and resources with their online community.
The next part of their initiative was to reach out to their community and take action. They organized a fundraiser and looked for an organization that aligned with what they had been learning. They chose CLICK because of its support for out-of-school care, programs addressing food insecurity, school trips and camps, literacy programs as well as a range of sports, recreational and arts and cultural activities.
The fundraiser was an online interview and discussion with Ultimate World Champion and Indigenous leader Chief Lara Mussell Savage of the Skwah First Nation. Over 400 people from across North America tuned in to the inspiring event and over $2,000 was raised for CLICK.
“The CLICK team is very grateful to the Traffic Ultimate players for organizing this fundraiser – especially during a pandemic that has made life even harder for working poor families and their kids,” said CLICK President Brenda Penton. “This is a terrific example for other groups and organizations of how they can use an event to help kids in the greatest need in our city.”