Rogers Sports & Media Announces 8 Partnerships with Diverse Charities and Small Businesses as Part of its All IN Initiative

– All IN initiative to provide advertising and creative services to Breakfast Club of Canada, Dollar a Day Foundation, Egale Canada, POV, Raven Reads, Révolutionnaire, UnitedWeCurl, and Women’s Para Hockey of Canada –

TORONTO (June 2, 2022) – Today, in partnership with eight Canadian charities and small businesses, Rogers Sports & Media announces the next chapter of its inclusion and diversity initiative, All IN, which is grounded in helping build a more inclusive company, community, and country.

“As we embark on this next chapter of All IN, we are inspired and encouraged by the meaningful work of our new partners,” said Colette Watson, President, Rogers Sports & Media. “While each of these organizations have a unique focus and mandate, there is a common thread that runs through each of them – and Rogers Sports & Media – and that’s an unwavering purpose and promise to drive awareness, understanding, and inclusivity.”

Over the next 24 months, Rogers Sports & Media will provide Breakfast Club of Canada, Dollar A Day Foundation, Egale Canada, POV, Raven Reads, Révolutionnaire, UnitedWeCurl, and Women’s Para Hockey of Canada with creative services and advertising to showcase their invaluable work. Tailored campaigns will be created for each organization and will air nationally across Rogers Sports & Media’s suite of media assets.

Since launching in 2020, Rogers Sports & Media has provided 2,600 creative production hours designing customized campaigns for our partner organizations, which were aired across the company’s television, radio, and social platforms more than 2 million times in high rotation, generating 160,000,000 impressions for charities and small businesses that support equity-deserving communities.  Additionally, Rogers Sports & Media profiled hundreds of businesses owned by women, 2SLGBTQ+, Indigenous, Black, people of colour, and persons with disabilities, and awarded 26 BIPOC scholarships and mentorships across Sportsnet, Cityline, and OMNI Television.

Here are Rogers Sports & Media’s new All IN partners:

Breakfast Club of Canada

Breakfast Club of Canada wants to change the perception around breakfast programs. They want to transform the narrative and use positive language to talk about food security and move the needle closer to their goal: breakfast for every child, every day.

“Since 1994, Breakfast Club of Canada has been working with partners from all sectors to help children coast-to-coast-to-coast, regardless of their background, access a healthy breakfast each morning. On behalf of the children, the Club is extremely grateful to have been selected for Rogers Sports & Media’s All IN initiative. This partnership will allow us to increase the awareness for the cause and will help move the needle closer to our goal: breakfast for every child, every day.” –Tommy Kulczyk, President and CEO, Breakfast Club of Canada

Dollar A Day Foundation

The Dollar A Day Foundation has a simple mission: to raise funds to close the gap between the availability of frontline mental health and addictions programs and the growing need. Many people suffering from mental health and addictions do not have the supports they need to get on the road to recovery. With proper supports, despair can be replaced by hope, dignity, and the opportunity to give back. 

“The All IN partnership is a real gamechanger for Dollar A Day Foundation. We are fortunate to be gifted the opportunity to use Rogers Sports & Media’s media megaphone to grow our community nationally, so we may direct more funds to support underserved communities. The grassroots programs which Dollar A Day supports are working tirelessly on the frontlines of mental health and addictions care across Canada. The folks running these programs are true superheroes who are doing some of the hardest work we can imagine. It is an honour to partner with Rogers Sports & Media to ensure they are receiving the proper supports they need to continue the critical and impactful work they do every single day.” – Alan Doyle, Co-Founder of Dollar A Day Foundation  

Egale Canada

Egale Canada’s mission is to improve the lives of 2SLGBTQI people in Canada and to enhance the global response to 2SLGBTQI issues by informing public policy, inspiring cultural change, and promoting human rights and inclusion through research, education, awareness, and legal advocacy.

“We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Rogers Sports & Media and their All IN initiative. For over 35 years, Egale has worked to improve the lives of 2SLGBTQI people through research, education, awareness, and legal advocacy. Through this partnership with Rogers Sports & Media, we will be able to amplify our work and gather more voices across the country in support of societies and systems that reflect the universal truth that all persons are equal.” – Helen Kennedy, Executive Director, Egale Canada 

POV

POV is a charity that partners with talented, young BIPOC creatives to champion diversity and inclusion in the content production industries by increasing access to skills training, job placements, mentorship, and professional development opportunities.

“We are beyond thrilled and grateful for this opportunity through the All IN initiative. This support is absolutely critical to champion a new generation of diverse young creatives to flourish and add value in an industry they never had access to, nor believed they could be successful in. That is why we appreciate this gift, and why the young creatives POV works with are full of gratitude for this generosity.” – Biju Pappachan Executive Director 

Raven Reads

Raven Reads was founded on the premise of raising awareness of our collective histories, lived experiences, and supporting Indigenous authors and entrepreneurs. It was borne from a desire to educate others about the devastating impact residential schools had on Indigenous people in Canada.

“Being selected for Rogers Sport & Media All IN partnership is an incredible opportunity for reconciliation in Canada and to showcase the incredible diversity of Indigenous artists, authors, and entrepreneurs across North America.” – Nicole McLaren, Founder/Chief Executive Officer, Raven Reads Books Ltd.

Révolutionnaire

Founded in 2021, the Révolutionnaire social network gives youth an entry point to changemaking with information, community, and tools, to make a difference. The platform is a destination for young people to learn, connect and take action on the causes they care about.

“Support through All IN will be transformative for Révolutionnaire and give our organization a true national megaphone to engage Canadian youth in an unprecedented way during a time of urgent societal need. We are especially excited to collaborate with Rogers Sports & Media and reach youth from coast-to-coast-to-coast and empower them with information to take meaningful action in their communities on the issues they care about most.” – Nia Faith Betty and Justice Faith Betty, Founders of Révolutionnaire

UnitedWeCurl

UnitedWeCurl is committed to educate and raise awareness about issues affecting curling, elevating voices for change and advocating for racialized communities in the sport.

“We are a diverse group of people actively working to “change the face of curling”. We are committed to educating and raising awareness about issues affecting racialized people in curling, elevating voices for change, and advocating for racialized communities in the sport. Although we are starting with curling, we hope that the impact we have will translate into making society as a whole better. This partnership with Rogers Sports & Media provides an incredible platform to share our message to achieve sustainable change.” – Sabena Islam, Director, UnitedWeCurl

Women’s Para Hockey of Canada 

Women’s Para Hockey of Canada’s mission is to contribute to the health and well-being of girls and women+ with disabilities by developing, promoting, and providing opportunities to participate in the sport of para hockey from grassroots development to an elite level throughout Canada.

“Women’s Para Hockey of Canada is grateful and thrilled to have been selected as one of Rogers Sports & Media’s All IN partners. We know that sport and recreation opportunities for girls and women+ with disabilities have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rogers Sports & Media’s support will have a major and lasting impact on improving accessible and inclusive sporting opportunities for girls and women+. We are so thankful for this chance to advance the sport and make a difference in communities across Canada.” – Janice Coulter, President, Women’s Para Hockey of Canada

Rogers Sports & Media’s all-encompassing All IN initiative focuses on these five pillars:

• Business: Provide advertising and creative services to small businesses owned by BIPOC and equity-deserving communities

• Community: Provide advertising and creative services to charities that support BIPOC and equity-deserving communities
• Content: Further increase diversity of thought and ensure editorial content accurately reflects the unique composition of Canadian communities through an internal Content Advisory Council
• Hiring & Career Advancement Practices: Grow programs and recruitment strategies, in partnership with Rogers, to improve diversity at all levels of the organization
• Mentorship & Sponsorship: Expand opportunities for young people from equity-deserving communities and equip them with the tools, support, and resources to successfully enter and advance in the sports and media industry

All IN complements Rogers 2025 Inclusion & Diversity Strategy, which focuses on creating meaningful change for equity-deserving communities through actions tied to the strategic pillars of People, Customer and Community. Rogers is committed to embedding inclusion into its employee experience, creating a customer experience that is reflective of, and supports, the diverse needs of Canadians, and partnering with communities to help foster inclusion and meet critical needs of our residents and neighbours.  Community programs that support underserved and vulnerable Canadians include the Ted Rogers Community Grants, Ted Rogers Scholarships, and Connected for Success, a program that offers affordable Internet to bridge the digital divide.

About Rogers Sports & Media

Rogers Sports & Media is a diverse sports and content company that engages more than 32 million Canadians each week. The company’s multimedia offerings include 54 radio stations, 29 local TV stations, 23 conventional and specialty television stations, podcasts, digital and e-commerce websites, and sporting events. Rogers Sports & Media delivers unique storytelling through its range of powerful brands: Citytv, OMNI Television, FX, TSC, KiSS, Breakfast Television, Cityline, CityNews, Sportsnet – Canada’s #1 sports network, and the Blue Jays – Canada’s only Major League Baseball team.  Rogers Sports & Media is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX, NYSE: RCI). Visit RogersSportsandMedia.com. 

Media Contacts

Sarah Grossman, Rogers Sports & Media, 416-509-9694

Gillian Irving, Rogers Sports & Media, 416-558-4286