Funding shortfall for KidSport 'heartbreaking'

Kidsport on P.E.I., which provides financial support for registration fees and equipment for children who want to play sports, may not be able to help every family that applies for funding this year.

Most years, KidSport has been able to provide funding to every eligible family that's applied, but that might not be the case in 2017.

"To be honest, it's heartbreaking," said Jared Murphy, sport coordinator at Sport PEI.

"There's going to be somebody apply who wants to participate in sport, and we can't provide the funding for it. I think anybody in the sport community would agree that's something that we never wanted to face."

Growing demand

Murphy said the group is looking at a number of ways of dealing with the shortfall, including changing income levels for eligibility, going to a first-come-first-served model, or limiting funding for each provincial sporting organization.

There is a growing demand for funding, said Murphy. In the past 20 years the group has gone from distributing $3,000 a year to $150,000 a year. That money supports about 600 children.

The group forecasts as many as 150 children could be not supported this year due to the lack of funds.

Fundraising efforts could still raise enough money to cover the need. The group receives support from the province, Bell Aliant, D.P. Murphy Hotels and Resorts, and individual donations.

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