La Fondation de l’athlète d’excellence et Gildan : près de 150 000 $ en bourses depuis 2005 et 10 000 $ en bourses Leadership cette année

Montreal, June 28, 2021 – The Foundation for Athletic Excellence (FAEQ) and Gildan have awarded five 2000 $ Leadership Scholarships to college student-athletes who compete in a sport within the RSEQ. These inspiring individuals not only excel in their studies and sports but are also deeply involved in their communities, making a real difference.

Since 2005, Gildan has invested nearly 150 000 $ at FAEQ in order to support young university student-athletes who stand out through their various involvements beyond their academic and athletic excellence.

Due to the cancellation of the 2020-2021 university sports season, the Quebec University Sports Gala cannot take place this coming November. Gildan nevertheless wanted to highlight, during a virtual scholarship presentation held on Zoom, the achievements and exemplary community commitment of these student-athletes.

What they said:

«Gildan is proud to help shine a spotlight on young people driven by qualities of compassion, generosity, and altruism, who create or get involved in projects that make a small or big difference for those who benefit from them. Despite a year full of challenges for these student-athletes, they have demonstrated a unique ability to improve the lives of those around them, and we want to congratulate them.»

– Geneviève Gosselin, Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing at Gildan

«FAEQ is privileged to be able to count on Gildan's loyalty and generosity since 2005. By contributing to the university scholarship program with the Gildan Leadership scholarships, it encourages our young people to persevere in their sport and studies while playing an active role in our society. Thank you Gildan and congratulations to the five Leadership bursary recipients in this very special year!»

– Patricia Demers, Executive Director of the Foundation for Athletic Excellence

Full profiles of the five recipients of a Leadership fellowship from the
Gildan Scholarship Program 2021

Named to the RSEQ second all-star team in 2019-2020. Maintained an average of 6.19 assists per game with the Vert & Or, the fourth best in the league.
Chair of the Athlete Committee: Serving as chair for the past three years, she has made it her priority to enrich the lives of her fellow student-athletes. Among the organization's many responsibilities, she ensures a connection between the administration and the student-athletes, in addition to keeping her peers informed about what is happening in their community through a Facebook page and bi-weekly meetings.
> Emma also helps organize an annual dinner and show, a fundraiser for the university. She suggested that the 2021 event be held online and came up with the idea of meal kits. She was in charge of finding participating restaurants and helped with deliveries. In the end, 87,000 $ were raised to benefit the athletics department.
School tour: Working in the field of education, Emma believes that physical activity is essential to a positive learning process for her students. During Health Week, she therefore toured the classrooms of Jardin-des-Lacs elementary school to talk about her career and encourage the children to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
At Triolet High School, Emma organized workshops for young student-athletes to help them develop their leadership skills. She helped recruit other athletes from the Université de Sherbrooke to support her in facilitating and presenting these workshops. She also led several discussion groups with the children, and her project concluded with the organization of a conference given to over 60 students.

Gold medalist at the 2019-2020 RSEQ provincial championship. Maintained an average of 5.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game with the Rouge et Or.
In the fall of 2020, Marie-Pier met the founder of «Vide ta sacoche,» an organization whose goal is to provide hygiene products to women in need and experiencing homelessness. In October, she launched a campaign with the help of employees from Université Laval’s sports department and collected nearly 6,000 hygiene products that were redistributed by the non-profit organization.
In 2020-2021, she represented the basketball team on Université Laval's student-athlete committee. She helped organize a clothing drive in April 2021, which unfortunately had to be canceled due to the lockdown in Quebec City.
She is currently working on a pilot project to encourage entrepreneurship among young student-athletes in the region. Sports teams would be invited to sell handmade products during Rouge et Or games to finance their projects.
In addition to all her commitments, she is a math, physics, and chemistry tutor at the university and high school levels.

Gold medalist at the 2019-2020 RSEQ provincial championship. Scored 6 goals and added 9 assists during the regular season with the Martlets. Added 2 goals and 4 assists during the playoffs.
During her teaching internship in the fall of 2020, she wanted to help her students move and stay active despite the pandemic. The first project she set up was to create 5-minute CrossFit-inspired workouts, 2 to 3 times a week. She first showed them the various movements that required no equipment, and then encouraged them to design their own workouts. The project was a huge success. The other teachers saw a marked difference in the students« concentration levels at home and in class. This success prompted her to record her students to make video capsules for the benefit of all the other students in the school board. The initiative inspired other schools to participate within their own »class bubble.".
Her second initiative was inspired by the upcoming Winter Olympic torch relay. In addition to motivating students to keep moving and stay active, she wanted to build connections between schools by including students and teachers from other schools. Students participated in sports activities to accumulate «kilometers,» the goal being to cover the equivalent of 10,640 kilometers, which is the distance between Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville and Beijing. For every 10 minutes of exercise, students accumulated 1 kilometer. Each week, the kilometers were tallied and progress could be viewed on a website. The students' response was so positive that the goal was revised to ultimately make a round trip to Beijing. In the end, the students accumulated more than 33,000 km, an impressive participation in physical activities for students who no longer had access to organized sports.

Second in the RSEQ final standings and silver medalist at the 2019-2020 RSEQ Mauricie competition with the Carabins. Among the Canadian Academic All-Stars (average of 80 percent or higher).
Felix is an ambassador and member of the board of directors of Swab the World, an organization that aims to collect DNA samples from as many people as possible worldwide to obtain stem cell donations for disease research. As an ambassador for the organization, he primarily works to seek out opportunities to promote the cause and present it to various groups. An effective registry for the organization is very important.
Last summer, he answered the call to offer support in senior residences that were hit very hard by the pandemic. He quickly earned the trust of his team and was assigned his own wing and his own patients to care for. He showed a great deal of determination and leadership by combining his studies and his work in a stressful work environment.
He is the chair of the Cycle for Pediatrics, a fundraiser for pediatric care organizations. As chair, he is responsible for organizing conferences, selling promotional items, finding sponsors, and managing the organization's financial resources. This year, he plans to ride 300 kilometers himself for the cause.

Averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with the Stingers in 2019-2020. RSEQ nominee for the Tracy McLeod Award, which recognizes determination, perseverance, and courage.
> Nelly spoke out against inequalities and social injustices using her social media platforms. During the movement Black Lives Matter, she felt that the RSEQ's response was not appropriate, that it had not done enough to fairly represent Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) student-athletes.
On November 1st, she sent an open letter to the RSEQ in the hope of a favorable response. Not only did the RSEQ publish its own statement, committing to be more open in its policies and goals, but it recently set up workshops and organized meetings where stakeholders from different institutions openly discussed their concerns and their visions for the future.
She was interviewed on various platforms, where she discussed her commitments. She is a role model for other Black, Indigenous, and student-athletes of color.

About Gildan
Gildan is a leading manufacturer of everyday basic apparel which commercializes its products in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, under a diversified portfolio of Company-owned brands. Gildan owns and operates vertically integrated, large-volume production facilities, which are primarily located in Central America, the Caribbean, North America, and Bangladesh. Gildan is committed to implementing industry-leading labor and environmental practices throughout the Company's supply chain in accordance with its Genuine Responsibility® program integrated into the Company's long-term business strategy. Additional information on Gildan and its corporate citizenship practices and initiatives is available at www.gildancorp.com and www.ResponsabiliteAuthentique.com.