DARE to make a difference

Twenty sets of hockey equipment were recently donated to Marten Falls (Ogoki Post) First Nation through the DARE program.
Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service Const. Marc Beauparlant worked with KidzCanHelp.ca honourary chairman Peter Ing, a former Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman, and OPP Const. Paul Harrison, also a former Leaf, to secure the equipment.
“I attend the school on a regular basis with my DARE presentations and many of the discussions with the children had focused on the long awaited arena and the opportunity to play hockey,” Beauparlant said. “School attendance is a problem in Ogoki Post, to improve this I made a challenge to the children to attend classes and have a good attendance record, the reward for those who beat the challenge would be getting the donated hockey equipment so they could skate and play hockey. End result: this year’s attendance is significantly higher than last year and I can say that the promise of hockey equipment is a major reason.”
Part of the reason the students were so eager, Beauparlant said, is that the community’s new arena is scheduled to open any day now.
The equipment came from St. Catharines and was delivered by NAPS.
“After speaking with Paul about the work Beauparlant was doing and the opportunities the arena presented the community, the team at KidzCanHelp.ca all agreed this was a great opportunity to help before the holidays,” Ing said.
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) has been around since the early 1980s. The DARE program gives kids the life skills they need to avoid involvement with drugs, gangs, and violence.