The Program
The Access New Generation program supports promising young student-athletes and helps break down barriers to high-level sport, such as financial constraints, academic challenges, or even geographic distance. The Aléo Foundation's goal is to recognize and celebrate talent, encourage perseverance, and offer support services to face the challenges of balancing sports and academics.
Primary Objective :
Expand access to elite sports for young people who do not always have the resources to do so.
Detailed Objectives :
- To provide ACCESS, through scholarships, to elite sports for the most promising student-athletes of the new generation who would otherwise lack the resources to participate in these programs
- Encourage students to stay in school;
- Support student-athletes in their academic and athletic choices.;
- Support student-athletes in their overall development by providing them with guidance, including personalized academic counseling and a mentoring program.
Criteria:
- Be at the High School Level (3, 4, 5)
- Be a promising student-athlete with the potential to play at the next level (a starter on your own team, with a great attitude and strong stats);
- Play for an RSEQ team in the 1st or 2nd division, or be identified Espoir through its sports federation;
- A maximum of 10 nominations per school/club/association (5 boys and 5 girls);
- Demonstrate financial hardship that could hinder access to the next level.
Contact Frédéric Chagnon, frederic.chagnon@fondationaleo.ca, Scholarship Program Coordinator, for any questions or to receive the application form. * The applications must be submitted by a contact person affiliated with the school or sports club.
The Importance of the Program
Context
In Quebec, there is a category of young athletes who are too often in the shadows.
These young athletes, often gifted athletically, do not always have the resources and support necessary to maximize their potential. Their precarious personal or family financial situation is commonly a significant obstacle, not only to the development of their athletic skills but also to their efforts to avoid dropping out of school. Access to high-level sports allows for positive channeling of the energy of this same vulnerable clientele and for their engagement with the educational system by offering them opportunities, a sense of belonging, and pride in representing their institution, province, or region.
Our Vision for the Program
When multiple barriers stand in their way, whether financial or in terms of support, the person going through it may be led to make default choices, choices that can have a negative impact on their future. Some reluctantly leave school, expressing anxiety about their future. Others leave their sport, believing they were still capable of achieving great things, to prioritize academics, stuck having to choose between one or the other.
Having access to a support system is therefore essential for student-athletes to flourish and reach their academic and athletic ambitions. It is in this spirit that the Aléo Foundation offers financial support, as well as mentoring services, to all its scholarship recipients, from the emergence of their talent. The combination of scholarships and lifelong services is designed to provide the momentum needed to reach the highest peaks.
Propelling athletes beyond sport also allows young people to project themselves further, thanks to the skills learned in sports, thus giving them the wings to become our leaders of tomorrow.