January 17th, 2025 (Niagara, Ont.) — On May 30th, 2025, more than 400 athletes from Ontario will gather in
the Niagara Region to compete in the Niagara 2025 Ontario Parasport Games.
Today, Sport Niagara is proud to announce the creation of the Niagara Para Games Legacy Fund in
partnership with the Niagara Community Foundation. This fund will be managed by a board of those from
the Niagara Region’s disability sport community with oversight by Sport Niagara and by the Niagara
Community Foundation.
“Sport Niagara, as the Legacy Organization of the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, is excited to have
been awarded the opportunity to welcome Ontario’s Para Athletes to compete in Niagara,” stated Dan
Kennedy, Executive Director of Sport Niagara. "Our vision is to leave a lasting and sustained legacy for our
disability sport community.”
The goal of this Fund is to provide Niagara’s disability sport community with financial support towards new
adaptive equipment, programs, awareness, leadership training, and inclusion education. “Sport Niagara’s
vision for this Fund is really exciting,” says Jeff Tiessen, three-time Paralympian and Steering Committee
Lead of the Niagara 2025 Ontario Parasport Games. “From its appreciation of the disability community’s
‘Nothing For Us Without Us’ mindset, with respect to the construction of the board, to the understanding
that leadership and education are also important to building adaptive and inclusive programs that
motivate sport and recreation activity for life.”
The Niagara Community Foundation (NCF) has been operating for more than 22 years and is one of the 200
community foundations across Canada under the umbrella of Community Foundations of Canada. As a
community foundation, NCF helps connect donors to causes, and charities to resources, through the
creation of permanent endowment funds, like the Niagara Para Games Legacy Fund.
“Importantly, this partnership with the NCF will ensure that the Niagara Para Games Legacy Fund is
positioned for continued growth through investment and future contributions. These contributions will be
critical to the long-term success of the Fund and its programming”, stated Kennedy.
“After the success of the 2022 Canada Summer Games, our region is extremely fortunate and excited to
welcome the Ontario Parasport Games to Niagara in May 2025, hosted by Sport Niagara” stated Bryan
Rose, Executive Director of the Niagara Community Foundation. “NCF continues our proud partnership
with Sport Niagara in our shared stewardship of the 2022 Games. We are honoured to extend this
collaboration and for the opportunity to a Niagara Para Games Legacy Fund. The endowment fund will
create annualized revenue that we know will have an enduring impact and provide vital funding for
adaptive sports here in Niagara in the years to come and the generations ahead.”
The activities of this fund will be supported in part by the surplus generated from the Niagara 2025 Ontario
Parasport Games and through local donations.
The Niagara 2025 Ontario Parasport Games was made possible thanks to funding and support from the
Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Sport and Sport Niagara, and will give rise to new legacies of ambition
and confidence that will inspire generations to come.
"On behalf of the Ontario government, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Sport Niagara and the
Niagara Community Foundation for sharing our commitment to growing opportunities for participation in
sport for people of all abilities,” said Neil Lumsden, Minister of Sport. “The creation of the Niagara Para
Games Legacy Fund will ensure that people continue to benefit from the 2025 Ontario Parasport Games for
years to come."
About Sport Niagara
Sport Niagara is a not-for-profit organization established to carry on the sport legacy from the Niagara
2022 Canada Games. Sport Niagara will support the attraction and hosting of future sport events in Niagara
and promote sport through various programs focused on advancing high-performance and community
sport. For further information, visit us at sportniagara.ca or follow us on Facebook and Linkedin
(@sportniagara).
About Niagara Community Foundation
Established in 2000, the Niagara Community Foundation has raised over $76 million and has granted in
excess of $24 million to charities working in the arts, heritage, environment, social services, health,
education and community development sectors. NCF connects donors to causes and charities to
resources, turning intent into impact.