Our Story
Athletics4Kids was founded over 23 years ago by Craig Knapton and friends from North Vancouver, BC, who were compelled to get kids from low-income families in their own community into sports. Inspired by the transformative power of sports, they each invested the money to start Athletics4Kids.
Today, Athletics4Kids remains a grassroots organization with significant reach as our team of two staff and small army of volunteers ensures that kids across BC have the chance to play.
With the help of individual donors, companies and foundations, we have provided over $3.1 million through over 14,500 Sport4Life Grants. This has enabled thousands of kids to participate in over 55 eligible sports.
We work hard every day to get more kids off the bench and into the game
We champion families
We champion low-income families across BC and our province's most vulnerable children. Through a simple, discreet granting process, we help parents and caregivers say "yes!" to their kids by ensuring they have the funds to help cover their registration fees for over 55 different organized sports — season after season, year after year. In 2024, we expanded our program to include funding registration fees for summer sports camps.
We work with our community
Through our growing network of coaches, counselors, educators, and administrators, we connect with families across BC that need our support to get their kids in the game. We focus on serving communities where child poverty rates are high, and access to sport is low.
We partner with donors
We believe in the power of our collective action and partner with individual donors, foundations, businesses and government to ensure we are able to fulfill every grant application we receive. With a small, talented team and efficient processes, we maximize the impact of every dollar given to ensure as many kids as possible are able to play sports.
Meet our Staff Team
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Maggie Larocque, is an honours graduate from McGill University and is a Master's in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership candidate at Carleton University. An active member of the Vancouver community, she has also founded the Uplift Canada Foundation.
Maggie is dedicated to fostering collaboration in the nonprofit sector, focusing on gender equity, environmental issues, and youth mentorship.
In addition to her nonprofit work, Maggie is a published children's book author, focusing on themes of self-confidence and empowerment for young readers. As an advocate for youth leadership and innovation in the nonprofit sector, she strives to inspire and support the next generation of changemakers through her writing and community involvement.
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Breiana brings a strong background in administration and community engagement into her role as Administrative Coordinator at Athletics for Kids. With many years of experience in administrative roles, she ensures smooth day-to-day processes while supporting initiatives that help kids access sports.
Holding a Bachelor’s in Athletic Therapy and a kinesiology license, Breiana is passionate about youth wellness. She is currently pursuing a certificate in Human Resource Management at Simon Fraser University to expand her expertise in organizational leadership.
Beyond work, Breiana has dedicated time to volunteering with youth sports and athlete support, from on-field first aid to program coordination. She believes every child deserves the opportunity to play, grow, and reach their full potential - both on and off the field.
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Isla has a wealth of experience in business operations and process optimization, which she brings to her role as Grants Coordinator at Athletics for Kids. With a strong background in streamlining workflows and enhancing organizational efficiency, she is committed to ensuring that financial support reaches families in need as smoothly and effectively as possible.
Originally from Hong Kong, Isla earned her degree in Marketing from City University of Hong Kong. She began her career in financial institutions, where she developed expertise in financial operations, client engagement, and process improvement. This experience honed her analytical skills and attention to detail, which she now applies to managing grants and ensuring resources are allocated effectively to support young athletes.
After moving to Vancouver, Isla chose to make this city her second home and feels deeply honored to give back to the community that has welcomed her. Passionate about community engagement and youth development, she has been actively involved in volunteer leadership, dedicating her time to initiatives that create opportunities for young athletes. She believes that financial constraints should never be a barrier to participation in sports and is driven to make a meaningful impact through A4K’s mission.
Outside of work, Isla enjoys staying active and exploring the countryside of BC, whether it’s hiking through scenic trails, cycling along the waterfront, or trying out new outdoor activities. She understands firsthand the positive impact that sports and recreation can have on personal growth and well-being. Through her role at A4K, she is proud to help young athletes access these same opportunities, fostering resilience, confidence, and a love for movement in the next generation.
Meet our Board of Directors
Our board of directors consists of 9 dedicated members. While they are from all different backgrounds, each Board Member has a unique passion for ensuring that every child has the opportunity to play sports.
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Scott Trotter has been a supporter of A4K since 2012, a member since 2013 and joined the Board of Directors in 2015. Through sports Scott has learned valuable life lessons such as teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance, hard work and how to deal with success and failure. Through his involvement with A4K, Scott’s goal is to see young athletes achieve their dreams of playing sports and building important skills that will be the foundation for a healthy and successful life. Scott is the President of Staub Electronics, a proud father of two and is active in a number of sports including golf, squash and snowboarding. When not travelling throughout North America for business, Scott is regularly involved with his boys athletic pursuits which include baseball, golf, skiing, swimming, BMX biking and skateboarding.
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Realtor, FormanPilkington
Upon graduating from UBC with a Bachelor of Commerce in Urban Land Economics, Ross entered the commercial real estate sales and leasing industry on the North shore where he has excelled in that field, winning multiple awards such as top 30 producers in Re/Max Western Canada, and top 30 worldwide (of over 40 countries). But along with his work achievements, Ross has always believed that giving back to his community is equally as important, and he has won the Realtors care Award and taken part in such initiatives as the Cinderella Project Ball (“helping encourage youth to stay in school and achieve the milestone of high school graduation, giving young people the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their families”) over the past few years. Ross joined Athletics 4 Kids in 2014, and became a Director in mid- 2015; he is an active member of the Gala committee and over the past year, has worked tirelessly to engage sponsors, prizing and donations in support of A4K initiatives. He is an avid believer that sports can play a vital positive role in the development of children and youth and has been passionately involved with the North shore sports community both through his own pursuits and those of his son and daughter, who are very active in a number of sporting pursuits.
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Vice President of Finance, GEC, Global Education Communities Corp
Paul joined A4K in 2020 as part of the finance committee and joined the Board of Directors in 2022, hoping to use his knowledge of accounting and finance to benefit a cause about which he was passionate. He grew up in Adelaide, Australia where he played cricket, Australian rules football, soccer, golf and volleyball along with downhill mountain biking throughout his school and university years. He moved to Vancouver in 2018 and continues to play golf (poorly), along with making the most of living in close proximity to the abundance of mountain biking and snowboarding playfields. He truly values the friendships made, life lessons learnt, and support received through participating and volunteering in organized sports in his formative years. He strongly believes that removing barriers holding back kids from playing sports is a fantastic way to enrich communities, but more importantly, to enrich children’s lives as they grow up.
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Director, Business Development, CPHR BC & Yukon
Having volunteered with A4K since 2019, Kelly is excited to continue her involvement by joining the Board of Directors. As the active parent of two sports-obsessed teens, Kelly has spent the past 12 years serving in various volunteer positions within local youth sports organizations. She has witnessed first- hand the positive impact that staying active and connecting to community via a sports team or shared athletic pursuit can make on a child, and has a keen interest in supporting those who may face barriers to participating. Kelly has seen that greater confidence, resilience and compassion for others can emerge for youth who join teams, get physically active and put themselves in novel situations, separate from school and family. Every child who wants to broaden their horizons through athletic pursuits should have the opportunity and Kelly is heartfelt in helping A4K make that happen. Kelly’s professional career began in youth education and now sees her leading a Business Development team for a professional association. Kelly brings to the A4K Board of Directors expertise in relationship building, stakeholder communications and event planning. She looks forward to working alongside this dedicated team of directors, volunteers, and partners.
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Speciality Sales Representative, Novartis
Ryan has been with Athletics 4 Kids for almost 6 years, and was elected Vice President in late 2013. Ryan is blessed to have three lovely daughters who keep him busy in activities like swimming, dancing, bike riding and occasional wrestling matches – teaming up on their poor Dad! Ryan participated in many different sports growing up, including soccer, lacrosse, football, hockey and baseball. He played Junior Baseball and Hockey locally in BC. Pursuing his hockey dreams, he played for the Wentworth Leopards in Boston, Mass – part of the NCAA. Ryan completed his University degree at UBC, specializing in Human Kinetics and has first hand knowledge of all of the qualities that come from a life enriched by sport. As a young father of three, Ryan is already looking forward to more coaching opportunities. He believes strongly in the values that sport teaches – good sportsmanship, respect, teamwork, social skills, the value of hard work and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.
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Vice President, Gulf Pacific Group.
Ryan is excited to join the board in 2020 working along side a great team. Being able to continue to give back to kids sports is important to him. He played multiple sports growing up and believes the lessons learned from them have transferred to leading the team in the commercial property management business. While he’s still playing hockey, golf, softball and cycling, his greatest sports pleasures now are watching, supporting, and driving (coaching days are done) their two teenage kids who play soccer, volleyball and baseball. 4 years ago he put together a cycling team to participate in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, with hopes to make a difference in some small way with the funds raised. Ryan, his wife Jacqueline and their two kids live on the North Shore.
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CFO, Nelson International
Annette Johanson, CPA-CGA joined A4K/ board of directors in 2022 and will use her finance and accounting background to assist where needed. Annette started playing squash in her teens and is still playing in North Vancouver where she also enjoys playing golf, tennis, or hiking with her dog. She was on the board of Evergreen Squash Club of North Vancouver for ten years, including being Treasurer for three years and President for five. Evergreen has a very strong Junior Program whe re she worked closely with the coaches and parents to ensure there was an opportunity to participate at all levels from novice to tournament competitions. Annette has always felt strongly that sport provides a supportive community and positive environment in addition to the health benefits. Team sports can be the building blocks of life for our younger generation, whether just wanting to have fun and participate or play at an intermediate or higher level. A4K’s focus on providing those opportunities to families that would otherwise be unable to participate is what brought her to the board of A4K.
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President, Multi-Sport Mindset
Joe Germaine joined the A4K Board in 2024. In his role as President of Multi-Sport Mindset he designs and creates pathways for individuals and teams to level up.
As a professional development coach, Joe partners with schools, associations, teams, coaches, and athletes to achieve their goals through individualized programming. Joe has a unique ability to match programming in a way that links to measurable results and outcomes.
A lifelong athlete, Joe grew up playing many different sports and after high school, played baseball in Texas (NJCAA Div. 1) and Mississippi (NCAA Div. 1) on a full-ride scholarship and completed a BSc. in Exercise Science. After university, Joe played and coached professional baseball for 7 years in Australia & Germany, while acquiring several other certifications including:
Strength & Conditioning Specialist (NSCA)
Learning Facilitator & Coach Developer (NCCP)
Chartered Professional Coach (CAC)
Advanced Coaching Diploma (CSI)
In his spare time Joe enjoys developing engaging challenges that generate in-game results for athletes looking to improve. It keeps him fit and holds him accountable as every concept that he expects his athletes to perform he wants to execute, explain, and demonstrate at a high-level of expertise.
A4K resonates with Joe because he wants to give back to a community that has afforded him so many unique opportunities. Sports provided a vehicle to receive an education, travel the world, turn his passions into a career, and create a blue print for taking personal responsibility of his life.
He believes every child deserves the opportunity to participate, improve, and be part of a team because not only can sports create a love of physical activity, but more than that, sports can equip youth with the tools to become better people and handle the adversity of life.
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Executive Director, BabyGoRound
Meghan Neufeld is a dedicated social profit professional with over 15 years of experience in the field. She graduated from the University of the Fraser Valley’s Hospitality & Event Management program and furthered her education at the University of British Columbia, earning an Award in Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. These academic credentials have equipped her with a strong foundation in both organizational management and the importance of inclusive practices.
Throughout her career, Meghan has demonstrated a commitment to fostering community engagement and empowering individuals through her work in various organizations. In addition to her professional endeavors, she has been an active volunteer for 24 years, contributing her time and skills to a range of initiatives that support vulnerable populations.
Her passion for mentorship is evident in her 10 years of experience as a classroom mentor, where she has inspired and guided students to achieve their goals. Recently, Megan expanded her impact by joining the University of the Fraser Valley as a sessional faculty member, where she shares her knowledge and experience with the next generation of social profit leaders.
Meghan's community involvement includes remarkable achievements, such as serving as the mayor for a day in Abbotsford and raising over $12 million for local charities since 2008. Through her diverse experiences, she continues to advocate for social change and community development, making a lasting difference in the lives of many.
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Securities Lawyer, Getz Prince Wells LLP
Zahra Ramji joined A4K and the Board of Directors in September 2024 and will use her legal background to assist where needed.
She has been a securities lawyer in Vancouver for over 25 years. Zahra is the proud mother of two girls now in their twenties, who were active in soccer, skating and hockey growing up. She was the manager and treasurer for several of her daughters’ sports teams over the years.
Zahra lives on the North Shore and loves to explore all the North Shore trails, including the infamous Grouse Grind! She is excited to join the Board and looks forward to making a valuable contribution that will enable as many children as possible to participate in organized sports.
Meet our Spokesperson
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After a 19 season NHL hockey career, including the infamous Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cup run in 1994, Dave Babych joined Athletics for Kids as an inaugural member of the Board of Directors in 2002. He has remained involved ever since as a public ambassador to the cause, and has recently resigned as a director. Dave has coached baseball and hockey for over 15 years, both amateur and professional (hockey), and remains involved in the Canucks’ organization working in Player Development. Dave has 5 kids that were all involved in a variety of sports and he feels that all children deserve the right to do the same.
Meet our Co-Founder
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Craig Knapton, a founding sponsor of A4K, joined the Board in 2003 and became President in 2005. Craig was the President of CanKen International Wood Products and has travelled the world extensively for both business and pleasure. He knew first hand the positive connection that sports can provide within many diverse cultures and countries.
Craig participated in a variety of sports while growing up and was an accomplished long distance runner. He credited sports with helping to keep him grounded and as a great stress reliever.
Having two active children who also played sports, Craig had been involved in many athletic associations and served at board level. He believed firmly that participation in sport gives kids positive direction, self-confidence and respect for others – it puts them in the game.