By Sandra Milton
In December of 2022, the Ottawa Rowing Club (ORC) was selected as a recipient of two Canadian Tire Jumpstart grants! The ORC is thrilled to be chosen for a community development grant, which will be crucial in expanding their fleet of equipment for their nationally acclaimed Everybody Rows Ottawa (ERO) Program. The ERO is an initiative that strives to bring rowing to underserved communities and people across Lowertown and other parts of the Ottawa area. In addition to the community development grant the club received a Jumpstart Operational Grant, which will play an essential role in taking the first steps toward establishing a more accessible boathouse facility for rowers with limited or impaired mobility. Both of these grants are in addition to the Community Sport for All Initiative Funding that the club received from Rowing Canada in fall 2022 to support the administrative needs of the ERO program.
In 2021 the Echo reported on the everyone-can-row program, http://lowertownechoarchive.ca/2021/09/15/everyone-can-row/, and is pleased that local youth from the Girls and Boys Club, Athletes Combatting Racism and the Lowertown Community Resource Centre were able to take advantage of this program. ERO has grown from the inaugural season of 85 participants to serving more than 150 local area youth in 2022 and hopes to surpass 200 in the coming year. The ORC is thrilled to share their passion for the sport of rowing and fitness-for-life philosophy.
Zak Lewis, Head Coach of the ORC said he hopes future ERO participation will create opportunities through rowing that support the athletic and personal development of local youth. “Additional financial assistance is required to help transport these kids to and from ERO programming,” Coach Lewis shares:: “We [the ORC] is committed to providing free of charge programming to those in our community who would benefit most, but the longer term viability of our program relies heavily on the benevolence of donors from our community.”
As with Jumpstart, the ORC strives to bring sports and play to as many communities as possible and to recognize their importance in our daily lives. These grants will expand opportunities for growing the sport of rowing for people in all places and of different abilities, notably in the Ottawa area.
If you know of a group that might benefit from ERO programming or you would like to connect the club with a prospective donor, please visit the ORC website for contact information at: