On Sept. 15, 2012, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers hosted the 3rd annual Corporate Kids Challenge and raised more than $559,000 for KidSport BC, which broke last year’s record of $543,000 raised at the event. During the event, Ritchie Bros. welcomed hundreds of Olympic athletes, local celebrities and corporate team members in Burnaby where Gordon Hogg, government caucus chair and Parliamentary Secretary for Non-Profit Partnerships to the Minister of Social Development, presented a check on behalf of the Province of British Columbia to KidSport BC.
Gordon Hogg addressed the crowd at the start of the event: “You make a big difference in the lives of kids in this province and we are very thankful to you for that.”
Along with the Olympic athletes and local celebrities, 20 corporate teams faced off against each other in a number of sports day-like challenges including tug of war, the egg and spoon race, an obstacle course set up by the Burnaby Fire Department as well as food and beverages provided by Triple O’s and the River Rock Casino Resort. At the end of the day, KPMG came out on top, taking home the winning trophy at the 3rd annual Corporate Kids Challenge.
“It’s awesome that all these people come together to support such a great cause,” said Cindy Klassen, six-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated Canadian Olympian. “I believe it’s really important for kids to get the chance to play sports. It allows them to build life skills, be physically active and have fun just being kids.”
The evening concluded with a live charity auction featuring unique auction items donated by local companies and members of the business community. The unreserved auction took place onsite during the event, and also was available to the public through Ritchie Bros.’ real-time online bidding service at www.rbauction.com. Auction highlights included a 1983 Excalibur collector car, a pair of Justin Bieber tickets and a NASCAR weekend getaway in Arizona with Canadian upstart Cameron Hayley. All proceeds from the charity auction were donated to KidSport BC.
“We are grateful to Ritchie Bros. for hosting this event year after year,” said Pete Quevillon, director, KidSport BC. “The Corporate Kids Challenge remains the biggest fundraiser of any KidSport chapter in all of Canada.”
Bob Armstrong, chief strategic development officer of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, said: “Ritchie Bros. is proud to support youth athletic programs in our community. Putting on this event today for KidSport makes our staff feel like we’ve hit a home run. With the money raised today, it was actually a grand slam out of the park.”
Ritchie Bros. plans to hold the 4th Corporate Kids Challenge in September 2013.
“When I was a kid, sports meant a lot to me — team sports especially. That’s a big reason to me for being here today,” said Tommy Europe, two time all-star defensive back in the CFL and host of TV’s “The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp”, “Bulging Brides” and “Tommy Europe Fitness.” “This challenge raises a lot of money for the kids and it is important to me to be here, support the cause and help get the word out.”
About KidSport
KidSport is a community-based sports funding program that provides grants for financially disadvantaged children ages 6 to 18 to participate in amateur sports and learn valuable life lessons and skills. The organization operates 175 chapters across Canada, 40 of which are based in British Columbia. For more information about KidSport, visit www.kidsport.ca.
For more information, please visit www.rbauction.com.
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