About Us
Every Child Should Have the Chance to Play
The ASSIST Group is a grassroots organization formed by a small but committed handful of individuals who are passionate about minor sports and believe that no child should be left out of the experience due to financial limitations.
Through a variety of fundraising initiatives, we are able to help local children join minor sports associations by covering a portion of their registration costs.
Our Story
The ASSIST Group was formed in 2007 when Mike Dugal, a former president of the Windsor Minor Hockey Association, decided something needed to be done to help children who couldn't afford the costs for registration and the equipment they needed to hit the ice.
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So he pulled together a small group of people to coordinate fundraising events and ASSIST - Putting Kids in Hockey was born. In a few short years, the organization helped dozens of kids from financially vulnerable families lace up their skates with several local minor hockey associations.
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Several years later the organization applied for status as a federally registered charity and expanded its mandate to help kids register with a wider variety of local sports associations and the name of the group became ASSIST - Putting Kids in Sports.
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Since then, we have helped hundreds of families by defraying some of their expenses so their kids could register to play. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and community partners, kids have joined baseball, hockey, soccer, dance, basketball and even horseback riding associations.
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Our business model is fairly simple. We earn revenue from our charity bingo license, thanks to our partnership with Paradise Gaming Centre, as well as such fundraisers as our annual dodgeball tournament, murder mystery dinners and other events.
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Our administrative costs are minimal so the vast majority of our funds go directly to families, and all of the money we raise remains local.
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And our philosophy is just as simple. We believe that organized sports are a wonderful way for kids to remain physically active, spend less time in front of a screen and more time making new friends, and to deter them from engaging in negative, anti-social behaviours.
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We're always looking for new people who share our values and beliefs to join our organization, so if you'd like to get involved, send an email to assistsportswindsor@gmail.com, and tell us a little more about yourself.
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We look forward to hearing from you!