MPP Tom Rakocevic and Councillor Anthony Perruzza gathered with para-athletes, coaches, volunteers, and OCPSA staff at the Toronto Track and Field Centre to celebrate and hear how this significant investment in OCPSA has helped the organization recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The year-long grant, awarded in 2022, was used to develop a strategic marketing campaign targeting an underserved population in sport: children and adults with physical disabilities in order to increase their participation in para-sport programs throughout the province.
“Sports are an incredible opportunity to improve overall health, fitness, confidence and more. This important OTF grant has helped OCPSA reach the next level in its innovative work to increase participation in para-sport programs,” said Tom Rakocevic, MPP for Humber River-Black Creek.
Over the next week, OCPSA will launch a new marketing campaign that includes a new accessible website, its first-ever marketing video, and an exciting social media campaign to re-engage para-athletes, coaches, and volunteers who lapsed during the pandemic due to lengthy inactivity, and to attract young people with physical disabilities, coaches, and volunteers who are new to para-sport participation. Thanks to the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s grant of $97,500, people with physical disabilities will have greater awareness of, and greater access to, local para-sport programs for years to come.
“The impact of this support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Government of Ontario cannot be overstated,” said Amanda Fader, Executive Director of OCPSA. “This grant has allowed us to evolve digitally in order to reach new audiences with strong and compelling messages and ultimately attract more people to the world of disability sport, provide more sport programs, and better engage and serve our communities. We want to congratulate the Ontario Trillium Foundation on 40 years of granting and building healthy and vibrant communities across the province.”
For more than 40 years, OCPSA has helped thousands of children and adults with cerebral palsy and similar disabilities build healthy, active, and fulfilling lives through recreational, competitive, and high performance sport programming. OCPSA is a registered charitable organization and a leading sport organization in the province today for persons with a disability. Visit www.ocpsa.com to learn more.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Visit otf.ca to learn more.
Organization Contact for Media Inquiries:
Kira Crozier, Director, Resource Development
Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Association
kira@ocpsa.com