Cumberland YMCA

When Barack Obama won the Presidency of the United States in November of 2008, mankind finally realized a dream that younger kids know automatically, that is, when seeing through the eyes of a child, the color of your skin does not matter. In small town Amherst, Nova Scotia, the barriers that Jackie Robinson broke down on April 15, 1947, embody themselves in many local children of all ethnicities that enjoy hearing “of course you can play” and have turned small town dreams into big time success. Amherst, Nova Scotia (approx. pop. 10,000), while small in stature, is rich with cultural and sporting spirit, dating back many decades. The Bordertown, as it’s referred to by the locals, was founded by the Acadians in 1672 and called “Nemcheboogwek” by the Native American Micmac tribal nation, meaning “rising up ground” because of the towns’ proximity to the flat Tantramar Marshes. When a community shows cultural and sporting spirit, this success comes from the grass roots level, where the faces and names of local heroes usually go unnamed and are not celebrated, but make no mistake, these are the individuals who are true “game changers”. Amherst has had the honour of receiving two awards for community spirit in sport from the Governor General of Canada, the “Caring Canadian” award, the top recognition in the country for the “unsung heroes who volunteer their time, their efforts and a great deal of their lives to helping others, and who ask for nothing in return.” Amherst has also been at the forefront of sport for minorities, celebrating the 3rd African American to make it to the National Hockey League in the mid 1970’s. This individual then returned to Amherst after his career ended to help mentor and coach other youth to greater heights, sending two special talents to the big lights of the professional game. Amherst is a community of diverse interests and has shown the ability to “include rather than exclude.” People of all ages participate to keep active healthy minds and bodies through sport and recreation like hockey, soccer, baseball, golf, tennis, karate, sledding, canoeing, fishing, and walking, just to name a few. Amherst and surrounding areas are an outdoor marvel of beautiful wildlife sanctuaries that transform into glistening wonderlands during the long winter solstice. Like any thriving community, there needs to be spirit and dedication, which Amherst has in abundance, however, infrastructure is also needed to complete the community circle. Unfortunately, Amherst has struggled with severe youth outflow and the closure of many good paying manufacturing based enterprises. This reality has caused severe strain to one of the most important pillars of the community, the local YMCA. Filled with uncertainty for the past few years, the red light may be flashing for the last time in an effort to save the only multidisciplinary community centre the county has to offer. Many caring beneficiaries have stepped up to save the centre but a “community refresh” prize of $25,000, on behalf of Kraft and Bell Globe Media would go miles to ensure the building does not close its doors permanently. Having TSN visit the town would pull in a huge audience from both New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and would result in a massive injection of spirit and spark, to a community badly in need of “just one good bounce of the puck.”

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