MontrealAlouettes.com
MONTREAL – A group of Montreal Alouettes players visited with young students at Henri-Bourassa High School in Montréal Nord on Friday morning for the official launch of the Together at School with the Alouettes community program for 2015 which will run through the end of April. The activities surrounding the biggest effort of the team’s community initiatives reached more than 60,000 students in 120 Quebec schools in 2014 only.
“The Together at School with the Alouettes community program has been the pride of the entire organization for 18 years and we deeply appreciate our players commitment and dedication year after year. By visiting these schools, our players are looking to motivate and inspire students from elementary and high school levels to make the right choices and reach their full potential through hard work and perseverance,” explained Mark Weightman, President and CEO of the Montreal Alouettes.
During this morning’s visit, the players on-hand reached out to over 200 students from Grades 7 to 11 in the school’s auditorium to talk about the importance of persevering in school and to make the right choices regarding a wide range of challenges younsters are facing. In addition to taking the floor to address topics such as academic performances, peer pressure, bullying and self-esteem, the Alouettes players suited up for a friendly basketball game meeting with the school’s team in the gym. The players then took time to take pictures, sign autographs and continue the discussion with the students.
“My teammates and I are well aware of our role in these school visits and that is exactly why we are commited and involved as well. The main goal is to encourage young students and try to have a positive impact on their academic progress, especially during a period when making the right choices becomes crucial for their development,” revealed Alouettes’ linebacker Nicolas Boulay.
Prior to visiting elementary and high school level kids across the province, players must first undergo 32 hours of training from specialists in the field of mentoring and counseling in order to be better equipped to help the students.
For the third straight year in 2015, the players involved are taking French lessons in order to better interact with the kids. These courses will continue on a weekly basis until the end of April.
The players in this year’s program include: Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, John Bowman, Martin Bédard, Kyries Hebert, Josh Bourke, Éric Deslauriers, Kristian Matte, Nicolas Boulay, Jerald Brown, Jeff Perrett as well as program newcomers Andrew Lue, Samuel Fournier, Simon Légaré and Tyrell Sutton.
