Cricket program in Portage receives $14,900 Jumpstart

The Portage la Prairie Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC) got a massive boost to its "Learn How To Play Cricket" program on Tuesday evening.

The gymnasium of La Verendrye School was the scene of a $14,900 cheque presentation on behalf of Jumpstart.

Megan Romphf, Cultural Connector for the PCRC, says that this huge donation means everything to the future of this program.

"It's really, really nice to see this come to fruition," continues Romphf. "This is going to go so much further than what we can all imagine."

Romphf says the program is designed to teach kids ages 4 to 17 the fundamentals of cricket, such as the rules and the use of the equipment.

Glenn McLane, the Regional Manager with Canadian Tire Jumpstart charities, presented the money to the group and shares that his organization could see that this cricket program needed some funding to help launch itself into relevancy.

"It's a sport that hasn't been delivered in this community before, and the interest was certainly there. So, we are really very pleased to be able to support it as the initial supporter to get this program up and running and take it from."

McLane adds that Jumpstart gets many requests for sports such as hockey, basketball and soccer, so it was refreshing to switch gears and support a sport like cricket getting off the ground.

"It's something that will appeal to a different audience, and then hopefully, you know your hockey players, football players, or dancers might come over and try it."

The PCRC notes they hope to have this program fully up and running by 2024-2025.