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Raptors' Calderon asks students to assist Right To PlayBy Dominik KurekOAKVILLE BEAVER STAFFSIGN HERE:Jose Calderon of The Toronto Raptors top playmaker visitedthe Toronto St. Marguerite dYouville School yesterdayRaptors (left)(Thursday) morning to dish out an assist off autographs the the court.shoe of St.Raptors starting point guard Jose CalderonMargueritemade the visit, along with members of thed'Youville SchoolRight To Play organization, to kick off thestudent Jasonschools Right To Play fundraising campaign.Uleryk-Carvalho The Spaniard is an athlete ambassador for thebefore speaking to organization and has been for about fourstudents yesterday years.about the Right ToThe campaign will have students collectPlay organization. pledges in the hopes of raising more thanSt. Marguerite $5,000 for the organization, which provideshopes to raisesports opportunities to children around themore than $5,000 world where access to equipment is rare,for Right To Play,including with first nations children inwhich provides Canada.sports opportuni-Calderon told the children that they canties to children help support Right To Play in various waysaround the world.outside of school.You can do a lot of things, he said. ForNIKKI WESLEY /example, the song you learned right now. YouOAKVILLE BEAVERcan pass the song around and talk about RightTo Play to everybody in your home and what itJulia Myer, manager of schools and univer-They lived in a rocky, mountainous region.foster a knowledge about HIV/AIDS and thedoes all over the world.Hsities partnerships with the organization, toldHowever, they banded together and literallyprevention of the disease. It helps childrene also told the group that he hopes tothe children about her organization.moved a small mountain, with the support of become resilient to disease, be assertive andsometime next year travel to a third worldThe organization was formed after itsthe mayor sending in a bulldozer. They flat-gain confidence, and it promotes gender equal-country with Right To Play, as other athletesfounder, four-time Olympic gold speed-skatingtened an area to make a soccer pitch.ity.have done, to help teach the fundamentals of medalist Johann Olav Koss, visited an AfricanAnother presentation came from IreneTo help create gender equality, in organizedsport.country where he found a group of boys usingKpodo, project co-ordinator in Ghana. Sheco-ed sports it makes rules such as awardingIn his case, Calderon said he has had greata bundled up shirt as a soccer ball. The boyshowed the students several energizing songsone point to a team when a boy scores a goalfortune playing basketball. His father was awith the shirt was a popular boy because hisand talked about the need of providing sportsand two when a girl scores. This encouragesprofessional before him and the sport hasshirts sleeves were the longest. After that visit,to children.boys to pass the ball to the girls in the hopes of become a part of his life.he pledged to return with some sports equip-Because the school had a visit fromgetting more points, which also emphasizesBasketball for me is everything. Its my life,ment. He formed the organization in 2000,Calderon, she talked about basketball and toldgirls' right to play.its my job, he said.and the organization has grown to be involvedthe students about the skills needed to play theShe added the organization also helps pro-But also, thanks to basketball, he said he isin 20 countries and help more than 200,000sport, such as dribbling, shooting, jumpingtect childrens rights.able to go around to places such as the schoolwhchildren.and passing.Children get abused, they get sold off orere he can help get children involved inOf her own experience, Myer said she visitedBut, she added, there is another set of skillsabducted, she said, adding the organizationvarious initiatives, such as Right To Play.a community in Mali where the local childrenrequired to play basketball, like teamwork,puts on child protection activities.The presentation also included informationhad to walk many kilometres to a play field.respect for ones teammates and opponentsFor the fundraising initiative, the school hasfrom Right To Play representatives.and a dedication to what one is doing.a poster of the mountain where the Mali chil-You need these skills in basketball and indren made a soccer field. The poster has 54every day life, she said.squares on it. The top squares have a picture of She said these types of vital life skills arethe mountain. For every $100 that is raised, ataught on the sports field. She added Right Tosquare will be removed revealing the picturePlay teaches children many values and helpsof the soccer field underneath.Best prices SPORTSSPORTSINC.guaranteed!Your neighbourhood Sports Store and Support...CLARKSON LORNE PARKBestLacrosse selectionSave up*Excluding goalieSTXRBKBODDAMGAITNIKEWARRIOR1703 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga. (905) 855-8225www.clpsports.cawww.insideHALTON.com OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, February 11, 2011 32