What if access to sport could change the course of a child’s life?
In this conversation, Marco Di Buono, President of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, shares how Jumpstart has helped over 4 million children and youth across Canada reach their full potential through sport, investing more than $300 million in communities since 2005. From breaking down barriers to creating inclusive spaces and empowering girls through initiatives like Play to Lead, the mission is simple yet powerful: enable lifelong success through access to affordable sport.
If nearly 48% of youth say sport is too expensive, with cost being one of the main reasons they don’t participate, imagine what could change if more of us stepped in. One donation, one idea, one action—what could you do to help a child get off the sidelines and onto the field?
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences
Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities (Jumpstart) was established in 2005 with the purpose of enriching the lives of children in financial need through sport. Since then, we have helped over 4 million children & youth reach their full potential through the power of sport by investing upwards of $300M in communities across Canada.
Our strategy is simple: Enable lifelong success through access to affordable sport.
In January, Jumpstart released its State of Youth Sport in Canada report, bringing together insights from both parents and youth to provide a comprehensive view of the current youth sport landscape across the country.
What problem does it aim to solve?
Jumpstart works with organizations across the country to remove barriers to sport. This includes supporting the design and delivery of sport programs, creating inclusive play spaces, investing in communities through granting, industry research and events, and other initiatives.
Play To Lead — Jumpstart’s signature initiative for girls and young women — enables them to develop the skills, confidence, and relationships to become leaders, while improving gender equity and diversity in sport.
When did you start/join it?
I joined Jumpstart in November of 2015 as the Associate Vice President of Operations, Program and Operations. In September of 2022, I was honoured to take over as President.
What made you want to get involved?
The through line of my career that has guided my decision-making has always been a passion for child and youth wellbeing.
What was the situation like when you started?
On one hand, Jumpstart had built significant equity in serving the needs of communities for close to a decade, but it wasn’t leveragingits scale and ability to convene across the sport ecosystem.
Within this ecosystem, there were countless examples of well-designed, community-driven initiatives that were meeting the needs of young people, but few resources available to support them.
These two areas of opportunity would help set Jumpstart’s course for the next decade.
How has it changed since?
While there will always be more work to be done, I do believe we’ve made great strides in improving affordability, access, and inclusion within Canada’s youth sport ecosystem. We’ve been relentless in centring the community organizations and the young people they serve in our decision-making and responding to their needs. As a result of this, when I think about the barriers we’vebroken down, whether they be pertaining to gender or accessibility, it was through collective progress and designing with inclusivity in mind that we were able to create programs that tackled the obstacles of the times.
What more needs to be done?
Data from our State of Youth Sport in Canada report shows us that we need to move from one-off solutions to long-term investments and sustainable solutions to create the most opportunities for children and youth in need.
The biggest progress will come from leveraging the community resources we already have – like schools – to structure programs that meet young people’s needs while also eliminating the known barriers to their participation. We also need to think about the intersection of new technologies at the community level that could unlock additional pathways to play. A great example of acommunity-level solution to break barriers is our work with Equip Sport to launch app-enabled sport lockers across Canada that provide free sports equipment rentals.
How can our readers help?
Our team is always interested in hearing directly from local communities across the country. We’d invite everyone to explore thenew State of Youth Sport report and join us in finding ways to make meaningful change. If you have ideas about how to make sports and play more accessible for youth, we encourage you to reach out and share your ideas.
Of course, we couldn’t do our work without your generous support. Donations to support our efforts can be made online or at your local Canadian Tire, Mark’s or Sport Chek stores year-round. One hundred percent of Jumpstart donations continue to directly help kids play.
Together, we can build a stronger sport community for Canadian children and youth and unlock the vast social and economic value that sport possesses.
Do you have any events coming up?
We always have events taking place across the country, and I encourage readers to check our website and follow us on social media to stay up to date. A few key dates include:
• Play to Lead: Jumpstart’s Play to Lead program creates a network for girls and their coaches to come together through the power of sport. From March 16–19, 2026, Jumpstart is hosting its summit in Toronto, dedicated to uplifting and empowering young Black women ages 14-18. Future summits will be hosted in Charlottetown, PEI, in July 2026, and Whitehorse, YT, in August 2026.
• Community Champion Award: The Community Champion Award is our is a national recognition program partnership with Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. The award spotlights grassroots coaches and sport builders who make sport possible at the community level for children and youth. The successful nominee will be announced this June.
• Jumpstart Month: June is Jumpstart Month, where we hold fundraising activities across the country. You can donate atyour local Canadian Tire banner stores, including Sport Chek, Mark’s, Gas+, Party City, and Pro Hockey Life.
Where can we follow you?
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
PAY IT FORWARD: What’s an awesome local charity that you love?
It’s difficult to pick one because we see so much great work across the country. Like Iroquois Roots Rugby in Southwestern Ontario and Free Play for Kids in Alberta. Organizations like Cape Breton Blizzard and HEROS Hockey are rewriting the rules of what it means to play hockey in Canada. Lay Up in Toronto and Pour 3 Points in Montreal, which have redefined what good coaching looks like. And Spirit North, which has introduced a new generation to the power of outdoor play.
We are fortunate to know so many outstanding community leaders who are dedicated to the well-being of young people across Canada.
The post Charitable Choices: Marco Di Buono of Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities appeared first on Toronto Guardian.
