Initiatives
The following projects highlight some of the wonderful initiatives that Sidoo Family Giving is proud to support.
Sports
Down Set Hut Football Camp
Conceived and founded by David’s friend, former CFL, NFL and XFL pro footballer, Bobby Singh, the Down Set Hut Football Camp takes place each May in Richmond, BC. The non-contact skills camp is aimed at boys and girls aged 7-15 with skills and experience ranging from beginner through advanced. Attendees are grouped according to age and rotate through eight different stations that represent the player positions on the football field. The kids are coached by an exciting array of Pro talent throughout the day. Sidoo Family Giving remains deeply involved with the Down Set Hut Football Camp because it provides invaluable opportunities for youth to develop lifelong team building skills and gain inspiration and guidance from dedicated professional athletes.
Steve Nash Foundation
Sidoo Family Giving has been proud to support and enable the growth of Steve Nash Youth Basketball into the national, grassroots youth basketball development program at Canada Basketball. The Steve Nash Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to assisting under-served children in their health, personal development, education and enjoyment of life. The Foundation focuses its resources on underserved populations of children in British Columbia, Arizona, and the country of Paraguay. Equipping a neonatal intensive care ward in Paraguay’s capital, Asuncion, to provide basic necessities for infants and their families, developing an early childhood education center of excellence to bring best practices to young kids that don’t always enjoy that access in Arizona, and uniting civic outreach, corporate and social service organizations to show kids how to get involved in their communities, are examples of the daily work of the Foundation’s small but dedicated staff.
Crescent Moon Foundation
Established in 1989, the Crescent Moon Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing support for educational pursuits that will benefit children most in need who have displayed a commitment to their community, as well as other charitable causes. Sidoo Family Giving has been proud to support the Rising Moon Scholarship Program which awards ten scholarships of up to $5,000 annually to students that demonstrate a commitment to their community, excel in leadership and academics, and who are in need.
Kidsplay Foundation
Sidoo Family Giving is proud to be supporters of the Kids Play Foundation. Kids Play holds sports tournaments, conferences, and other projects for the youth community to learn about the opportunities they can seize within life. The organization is operated by leaders from all across the Lower Mainland wanting to bring a positive change within the community. Kids Play believes their work will allow the youth to discover the potential they have within themselves to reach greater heights in any aspect of life.
Supra Soccer Academy
Supra Academy identifies and develops soccer players between the ages of 4-17 in British Columbia, Canada. We are open to players from any team, club or academy. We design high level, age and skill appropriate development programs that are overseen by experienced staff coaches. Our unique training programs target potential technical weaknesses while continuously building on each player’s tactical knowledge and awareness. Most importantly, the academy’s objective is to develop the player’s confidence to compete at a higher level.
UBC Athletics
David and Manjy Sidoo are both UBC alumni, and Sidoo Family Giving provides generous scholarships to students in athletics and the arts. The athletics endowment is the largest of its kind at UBC. Each year SFG funds 14-20 athletic scholarships to create opportunities for students within the community to attend UBC. As a former UBC Thunderbirds football star who went on to play in the CFL, David has consistently given back to the school and team that supported his dreams. In 2010 David sponsored the renovation of Thunderbird Stadium’s Heritage Room, complete with a state of the art AV system. The room celebrates the history of UBC football and provides an inspiring meeting place for the varsity football team and for pre and post-game gatherings of T-Bird alumni. The Sidoo Family Thunderbird Scholarship Endowment was established in 2002 to support UBC athletes and each year funds several awards for student-athletes.
NWSS Football Program
An alumnus of the New Westminster Secondary School football program, David Sidoo has provided scholarships for young players who demonstrate dedication and excellence on the field and off. In addition, Sidoo Family Giving contributed to the revamping of the NWSS football stadium, which provided an enhanced spectator and player experience for the senior team and two junior teams that comprise the 150-student program.
13th Man Foundation
David Sidoo founded the 13th Man Foundation. The 13th Man is dedicated to providing student athletes of UBC with exceptional athletic and academic opportunities; in our mission to create the leaders of tomorrow.
BC Lions Alumni Tournament
David Sidoo and Sidoo Family Giving Foundation have donated $5,000 to support brain health and concussion research at the 19th Annual BC Lions Alumni Association (BCLAA) Golf Tournament.
Supra Academy
David Sidoo and The Sidoo Family Giving Foundation Empower Youth Athletes Through European Coaches Camp with Supra Academy
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Cinemathique, the Summer Visions Film Institute for youth
The Sidoo family has donated $80,000 to Cinemathique, the Summer Visions Film Institute for youth, over the last ten years. The financial contributions will ensure that Summer Visions is accessible to youth with limited financial resources by offering full scholarships for youth in need. The funds ensure that youth in difficult circumstances have a healthy and creative community to be part of during the summer months, and an opportunity to learn life skills. In many cases, it has been a life altering experience for youth on the margins, some of whom have gone on to work as youth mentors in subsequent programs, returned to school for filmmaking or teaching programs, or found employment in the film and television industry.
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Vancouver Opera
Stemming from a deep passion for the arts, Manjy Sidoo had been an active member of the Vancouver Opera Board of Directors for a number of years. Sidoo Family Giving also lends support to the Opera's educational programs such as Vancouver Opera in the Schools.
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The Old Vic Theatre Refurbishment
Through the Artistic Director’s Circle, the Sidoo’s support young actors, directors, writers and producers to learn their craft; invest in groundbreaking programs in schools to raise aspiration among the youth-at-risk; and use theatre skills to work with charities and local organizations to enable those in the community to participate. The Sidoo’s support of over $128,000 to The Old Vic will help to nurture the next generation of theatre professionals and emerging talent as well as to cover the costs of essential repairs and improvements to the historic building beneath Waterloo Station.
St. George’s School – Sidoo Family Bursary
The Sidoo Family Bursary at St. George’s School in Vancouver provides a non-repayable grant to a new student of up to $5,000/year entering Grade 6 or above, who, in addition to demonstrating financial need, in the opinion of the Selection Committee, has shown evidence of strong academic and athletic achievement, involvement in school or community activities, and proven sportsmanship & leadership abilities.
Entrance Award to the Allard School of Law
David and Manjy Sidoo initiated an $10,000 annual contribution toward an Entrance Award to the Allard School of Law at University of British Columbia in 2015 which is granted to a student entering the J.D. Program who has overcome a significant personal challenge including, but not limited to, illness, a death in the family, injury, etc. to pursue a university education with preference being given to a candidate who is a first generation university student and/or has demonstrated athletic achievement. There have been four recipients to date.
Corsa Foundation
Sidoo Family Giving has worked closely with the Corsa Foundation that directly benefits community organizations which are working to expand its Youth Scholarship Programs in order to provide South Asian youth with opportunities to pursue post-secondary educational studies and to assist them to meet their career goals. The Foundation also hopes to encourage and support as many organizations as possible with their projects which tackle youth related issues such as gang violence, substance abuse, inappropriate peer association and poor academic achievement.
BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, CH.I.L.D Foundation
The Sidoo Family Endowment of Orthopedics and the Sidoo Family of Endowment for Opthamology were established in 2000. The endowment also supports grants for students in these fields of study. The CH.I.L.D. Foundation was established to find a cure for children with Intestinal and Liver Disorders and to establish research in collaboration with B.C. Children’s Hospital.
East End Boys Club of Vancouver
David and Sidoo Faily Giving have worked closely with the East End Boys Club of Vancouver. His contributions are not only financial but also include mentorship and community support. David has been actively engaged in their programs including speaking with the children, sharing his story, answering questions, offering suggestions and acting as a role model.
City in Focus
City in Focus [CIF] believes that justice and social needs should be available to people—so it has increased its efforts to encourage philanthropy and social awareness in Vancouver. This non-profit’s work with the Vancouver area marketplace has naturally led to connections with organizations addressing the results of poverty. Over the years, these relationships have afforded CIF the ability to help meet the needs of individuals, non-profits, churches and other social providers through connections to resources. In addition, it annually distributes over a million dollars in directly-given philanthropic contributions. Most importantly, it connects those who have resources, finances, or time with those who are in need. CIF has a widespread chaplaincy as well, through which it work with University students, East Van residents and business community participants. Counseling those in need, and their families, is a primary concern.
“It’s a Girl Thing”, City of Surrey
David contributed mentorship and guidance with the initial set-up and funding to start the “It’s a Girl Thing” program in June of 2008 as a free recreational program focused on sport and social development for girls aged 10-17. Based out of Princess Margaret Secondary School in the Newton Area of Surrey, the program design and delivery were created on the premise that the Newton area of Surrey had a large South Asian population. The girls-only program model also works extremely well with the teenage demographics, and allows the focus to remain on the girls themselves.
Whole Way House
Sidoo Family Giving has participated in providing services and funding to the Whole Way House, which is a retirement home for our most vulnerable, homeless seniors, provided by the government in Vancouver.
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club of BC strives to combat food insecurity and promote health and learning by implementing community-based breakfast programs in underserved elementary schools. By providing funding, kitchen equipment, training, and management tools, we endeavour to eradicate hunger among the province’s most vulnerable children.
Vancouver East Side Oppenheimer Park
Every winter David and his family provide clothing, food, and other essential items for homeless people at Oppenheimer Park in the downtown east side of Vancouver, through the Burnette Fellowship Church, to make sure that they have warmth during the cold months.
Vancouver East Side Oppenheimer Park
Every winter David and his family provide clothing, food, and other essential items for homeless people at Oppenheimer Park in the downtown east side of Vancouver, through the Burnette Fellowship Church, to make sure that they have warmth during the cold months.
World Vision “RUDI”
David has collaborated with Nav Bhatia, Toronto Raptors superfan, in funding the World Vision project “RUDI” (Rise up Daughters of India). The project installed sanitation systems in the Punjab village schools in India so that hundreds of female students have restroom facilities at learning institutions, vastly improving conditions around gender-equal access to education in communities.
Street-to-home
Approximately 3700 people are homeless in the City of Vancouver. Streetohome addressed the underlying needs and root causes of homelessness in order to facilitate safe, decent, supportive housing and break the cycle of homelessness. Streetohome also strives to prevent those at risk from ever becoming homeless. The Streetohome Foundation is a community organization that brings together business, government and community leaders to build resources and develop lasting solutions to homelessness. Sidoo Family Giving has raised and contributed significant funding support to this very worthwhile initiative and continues to be involved with the organization.
David Foster Foundation
The David Foster Foundation provides financial assistance to Canadian families of children in need of life-saving organ transplants. The Foundation helps ease the burden for these families as their children bravely fight for their lives, by providing financial support for the non-medical expenses for families of children undergoing transplants, so these families can focus on what really matters – looking after their child. David has on numerous occasions stepped up in support of the Foundation, both financially and with personal fund-raising dinners to assist in the cause.