Inner City Recreation and Wellness Program

A collaboration between Bissell Centre and Boyle Street Community Services, the Inner City Recreation and Wellness Program (ICRWP) addresses social, cultural, and health issues in Edmonton’s inner city by meeting the needs of community members who experience significant barriers to recreation.

The program offers a broad range of activities, including individual and team sports, visits to cultural events and facilities, and outdoor pursuits. Activities are open to all community members. Staff not only participate in and help to run various activities, they also build on established trust-relationships to draw participants from different program areas, including families, youth, drop-in and housing.

The ESSC has been working with the ICRWP since 2014, with various equipment and monetary donations. In 2017, the ESSC wanted to strengthen their relationship with this important organization and looked at ways to increase their support. The Club understands the importance of recreational activities and wants to do what they can to help make them accessible to all Edmontonians.

As the ESSC's main charity for 2020, all Drop-in proceeds will be donated to the ICRWP, as well as other Club event 50/50 raffle earnings and equipment donations. In 2017 and 2018, the ESSC committed to providing a minimum of $4,000 in support to the organization, but are happy to announce that they ended up contributing $6,942 and $9,495 to the ICRWP. In 2019, the ESSC provided $8,575 in cash donations and hundreds of dollars' worth of clothing, pet food, and equipment. Contributions from ESSC players throughout the year were also greatly appreciated.The Club is looking forward to continuing to work with the ICRWP in 2020 to support their programs and fundraising endeavors.