The town of Salisbury, New Brunswick, has launched a new financial assistance program called Financial Assistance for Recreation (FAR) to help parents cover the costs of children’s activity programs such as sports teams and dance lessons. The program aims to make recreation more accessible and support the community’s goal of maintaining its status as Canada’s most active community.
Parents of children between the ages of 5 to 18 can apply for the funding to receive a maximum of $300 per child, or $500 for households with multiple children. Priority will be given to low-income families and programs based in Salisbury. Applications can be submitted in May for summer activities, in September for fall activities, and January for winter activities.
The program is funded through sponsorships and a small portion of the town’s budget. Some sponsors have already committed to multi-year support, and the town hopes that the program will help them retain their national title during the upcoming Participaction challenge and continue to promote physical fitness among residents.
“Being the most active community in Canada, we owe it to our residents to make recreation as accessible as possible,” said Salisbury recreation director Massimo Caracristi. “We will prioritize low-income (households) but we still want to approve applications for anybody that’s looking to apply.” Mayor Rob Campbell added, “Times are tough right now. We love to help our friends and family in our community so it’s so important.”
