At Kenmore Development, we believe it’s important to give back to our community and do our part through fundraising and events like our annual food drive.

That’s why we’re sponsoring a fundraising event, the 716 Champions League, this Saturday, October 6. The event is a soccer tournament to benefit Algonquin Sports For Kids.

Algonquin Sports For Kids provides youth sports opportunities and a safe environment for over 2,250 young athletes across Buffalo and Erie County.

Algonquin Sports Helps Kids in the Community

Algonquin Sports is a youth sports-based programming organization that teaches kids the basic fundamentals of sports and how to live a healthy lifestyle.

According to its mission statement, through sports and mentorship, the organization strives to empower underserved youth throughout Western New York to become agents of change.

It does so by providing young athletes with the opportunity to participate in soccer and tennis while learning life skills that will enable them to become productive members of society.

But the organization is focused on more than just sports, coordinator Alex Nearhood says. Nearhood explains that Algonquin Sports takes a holistic approach to promoting healthy behaviors to kids.

“We teach the kids about leadership and healthy living, like foods to eat and different fruits and vegetables, and the different life skills that are needed using sports as the medium,” Nearhood says.

The organization also trains adults to serve as positive mentors to children, in order to serve kids’ emotional well-being in addition to their physical health.

“In addition to our programming, we train our coaches as coach mentors, so they are there for the kids and can be the mentor each kid can look up to and trust with what is going on in their lives,” says Nearhood.

Soccer Fundraising Event

The upcoming 716 Champions League soccer tournament will help benefit the Algonquin Sports For Kids organization. It takes place Saturday, October 6 from 12-5pm at Sportsplex, located at 90 Ridge Rd, North Tonawanda, NY.

Kenmore Development Realty is a sponsor of this event, which will feature eight teams of adults who have fundraised in support of the event. Over the course of the day, teams will take the field to battle for team supremacy to win the 716 Champions League tournament trophy.

In addition to the tournament championship, each team, as well as each team member, will also compete for the Fundraising Championship. The Fundraising Championship will be awarded to the player and team that raises the most fundraising dollars.

Kenmore Development is sponsoring the Real Sociedad team in the tournament. We’ve raised over $1,000 for the team and encourage members of the community to support the organization through donating.

Kenmore Development president Scott Hunt said that he was inspired to support this event when he learned about the important work Algonquin Sports does in the community.

“A member of my staff put the Real Sociedad team together and made me aware of it,” Hunt explains.

“In speaking with him it was immediately apparent that Algonquin Sports is doing a great job in the communities it serves in developing young athletes. I wanted to support their mission.”

Nearhood says that the support of sponsors like Kenmore Development make it possible for the organization to empower kids in the community through youth sports.

“Without sponsorships it would be difficult for us to run our programming and make the impact in the community that we have been able to.”

Get Involved With Algonquin Sports

As of October 1, the 716 Champions League has reached 60% of its fundraising goal of $25,000. The event may be this weekend, but you can donate through the end of the month to help them reach their goal.

According to Nearhood, your support of the 716 Champions League will help give young players in underserved areas across Western New York the opportunity to play, learn and grow.

Outside of the event, there are plenty of ways to get involved and support Algonquin Sports’s mission.

People from the community can reach out to Executive Director Anna-Lesa Calvert at calvert@algonquinsports.org about volunteer options and about being a coach-mentor. You can learn more about getting involved on their website and donate or fundraise for the organization through GiveGab.

Nearhood says that anything you can do helps support the organization’s work so that they can continue to provide free access to healthy programming to low-income children.

“Sports are such a huge part of a lot of kids’ lives, and youth sports offer so many opportunities, but have gotten expensive and forced kids out of playing due to cost. We offer our programs free, and we are inclusive to everybody,” Nearhood says.

“We believe in the youth of Buffalo and hope others will continue to support our efforts.”