Jake Finney is a Community Program Leader with Spirit North in Edmonton and Athabasca, Alberta, in Treaty 6. Jake grew up in Fort Chipewyan and Athabasca in Treaty 8 and is a member of the Athabasca Fort Chipewyan First Nation. He has been with Spirit North for 4.5 years and the programs Jake leads are inspired by culture and the freedom connected to being active. He plays traditional games with groups tying culture with sport and play.

Spirit North is a national charitable organization that uses land-based activities to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous youth, empowering them to become unstoppable in sport, school and life. Through the transformative power of sport and play, their participants learn important lessons, discover untold potential and build the confidence and courage needed to overcome the hardships Indigenous youth often face.

Links:

Spirit North: https://www.spiritnorthxc.ca/

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The Future of Sport in Canada Commission released its preliminary report on August 28th 2025. With 71 recommendations, it is the most comprehensive review of the Canadian sport system that I have ever seen. In this episode, I share some of my thoughts and reactions on the preliminary report and recommendations.

Future of Sport in Canada Commission Preliminary Report: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/future-sport/about.html

Canadian Sport Policy 2025-2035: https://csp.sirc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Canadian-Sport-Policy-2025-2035-EN-FINAL.pdf

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

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This project started with a simple idea: what if fantasy football told the full story? Not just rushing yards and touchdowns, but backpacks donated, meals served, scholarships awarded, and lives changed. Now, with the Fantasy Football Draft Guide for Good, fans can see the causes players support off the field—right alongside their on-field stats.

Built for both casual fans and die-hard fantasy veterans, the guide lets you sort players by position and by cause. Whether you care about youth development, mental health, hunger relief, or military and veteran support, you’ll find players who share your values.

The Fantasy Football for Good: Draft Guide was created by Joe Flynn as part of the George Washington University Sports Philanthropy Executive Certificate Program.

Joe Flynn is a sports storyteller and nonprofit strategist focused on highlighting the human under the helmet. With over 3.5 million views across social media, he’s built a platform dedicated to showcasing the off-the-field impact of athletes and the causes they support. Joe has helped raise more than $1 million for nonprofits and social impact organizations and is currently enrolled in George Washington University’s Sport Philanthropy certificate program.
Joe believes that sports can build global bridges when fans shift their mindset from “What can this player do for my team?” to “What can this player do for my community?”

Links:

Fantasy Football for Good Draft Guide: https://www.fantasyfootballforgood.com/

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

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The Canada Games brings together more than 2,000 able-bodied athletes and athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities for the largest amateur multi-sport event in the country. Alternating between winter and summer, they span over 30 different sports to showcase the very best in Canadian sport and spirit.
The Games are held under the stewardship of the Canada Games Council who provide continuity, leadership and support. We’re here to foster ongoing partnerships and ensure the Games leave an enduring legacy on communities from coast to coast to coast.

Articles:

Watch the 2025 Canada Summer Games: https://www.canadagames.ca/watch#sports-watch

CBC Gem: https://gem.cbc.ca/

2025 Canada Games environmental initiatives: https://www.2025canadagames.ca/media-centre/environmental-initiatives

Volunteering in Canada: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250623/dq250623b-eng.htm

Anxiety, feelings of depression and loneliness among Canadians spikes to highest levels since spring 2020: https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/anxiety-depression-loneliness-among-canadians-spikes-to-highest-levels

Fortis Canada Games Complex: https://www.engagestjohns.ca/fortis-canada-games-complex

2023 Canada Games Legacy fund: https://cg2023legacyfund.ca/

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

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Radha Balani is the Global Head of Leadership and Strategy at ThinkBeyond, a leading consultant in sport for social impact and sustainability. A strategist and facilitator, she crafts and guides dynamic initiatives aimed at achieving sustainable social change through sport.

Throughout her career, Radha has worked with top sports organisations and athletes, including ESPN, UK Sport, Michael Johnson, Kate and Helen Richardson‑Walsh, Sport England, Welsh Rugby Union, World Rugby, and numerous national governing bodies. Previously, she held roles at the Football Foundation, Women in Sport, and London Sport, where her emphasis on strategy, narrative, communications, and stakeholder relationships has consistently fostered meaningful outcomes.

Her sports roots trace back to Loughborough University, where she served as Athletic Union President and graduated in Sports Science and English. With a career spanning university sport, community engagement, and global initiatives, Radha’s work highlights the transformative power of sport, particularly in championing women and girls, for positive social impact.

ThinkBeyond is a social impact and sustainability consultancy that supports leaders and organisations in driving change in and through sport. Their expertise spans crafting Theory of Change frameworks, designing intentional initiatives, and measuring long-term environmental and social outcomes.

They support brands, teams leagues and talent to have a real impact on the world and their business. Some of their work includes partnerships with Liverpool FC, SailGP, The FA, British Olympic Foundation, UK Sport, World Athletics, World Sailing, ESPN, The Premier League, and NFL Foundation UK.

ThinkBeyond brings together deep strategic insight with practical facilitation. Under Radha’s co-leadership, the firm helps clients design and deliver programmes that are both outcome-driven and brand-aligned, turning sport into catalysts for meaningful social and environmental progress.

To create this change, and drive sustained commercial growth, it’s essential to have leaders driven by a higher purpose, organisations that make sustainability a core value, community programmes that deliver real impact, and communications that inspire action.

That’s why, at Think Beyond, they create all four of these essential ingredients.

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

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Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠

Chris Marshall is the founder of G Tennis & charity Young Champs. His main drive and passion is creating opportunities for children from underserved communities to play and access Tennis coaching.

Young Champs provide free Summer coaching and equipment for local children, as well as training and mentoring for older teens on a pathway to becoming coaches. The charity also support a local rising star who came through their programme and has represented the county at Tennis. Chris’s work blends sport with social impact, using tennis as a platform to build confidence, open doors, and drive long-term change.

Young Champs aims to change the perception of tennis through being inclusive and making the sport accessible to all children, regardless of their background.

Links:

KidSport Canada 2024 Annual Report: https://kidsportcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/Annual-report-2024-ENG-combined.pdf

KidSport Calgary: https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/calgary-kidsport-sees-demand-spike-due-to-inflationary-pressures/

G Tennis: https://www.g-tennis.com/

Young Champs: https://www.youngchamps.uk/

KidSport Canada: https://kidsportcanada.ca/our-impact/

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-for-social-impact⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram (@SportsSocImpact)

Follow us on Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@sportssocimpact⁠

Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠

Polona Fonda is the communications officer for ENGSO and ENGSO youth and collaborates with other sport entities and experts such as Tine Vertommen (ARCH Safeguarding), Sport Union of Slovenia and orhers.

With over 12 years of experience in values-based digital and project communications, including creation, design, and management, Polona has worked with international, European, and national organisations, universities, and experts in the fields of sport, health, and sustainable development.

Her expertise lies in values-driven digital communications, with a particular focus on content creation and design that champion inclusion, integrity, equality, and diversity. In an era marked by disinformation and emotionally charged clickbait, she advocates for online diplomacy, safeguarding, and the cultivation of respectful dialogue. Her work is inspired by her childhood, where competitive alpine skiing and a deep connection to sport helped her overcome health challenges. This journey empowered her to become a passionate advocate for sport as a tool for development, with a particular focus on well-being, nature, and gender equality.

In 2022, she co-founded Institut Impact and the Move4Nature initiative, which uses outdoor sports and physical activity to educate people of all ages about the importance of environmental protection.

The Erasmus+ funded Move4Nature project is a network of local events across Europe. Each event features a hike paired with a trail clean-up. With the support of sports organisations and active Europeans, move4nature is collecting kilometres and kilograms of waste with the ambitious goal of making our continent cleaner, more active, and healthier.

Through hiking and physical activity in nature, the MOVE4NATURE project also promotes healthy lifestyles, inclusion, and intergenerational exchange. The project uses outdoor sports, particularly hiking, as a tool to teach youth, and adults, about the importance of environmental protection and climate action.

Links:

Move4Nature: https://institut-impact.si/move4nature/

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-for-social-impact⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram (@SportsSocImpact)

Follow us on Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@sportssocimpact⁠

Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠

Jane Roos is deeply passionate about ensuring Canadian athletes have the resources they need to succeed on the world stage.

Before founding CAN Fund, Jane was a promising track athlete whose career was cut short by a devastating car accident at the age of 19. This life-changing event inspired her to help other Canadian athletes who face challenges, not only with their training but also with the financial burden that comes with competing at the highest levels.

Jane’s achievements extend beyond her work with CAN Fund. She’s been honored with the Live Olympic Award, an international recognition given to only 20 people, and has been named one of the most influential women in sport by CAAWS, now called Canadian women and sport. The Globe & Mail also selected her as one of the Most Influential People in Sport, and she received the Leadership in Sports Award at the 36th Canadian Sports Awards.

Under Jane’s leadership, CAN Fund has raised over $40 million and has directly supported 80% of Canadian athletes who have competed at the Olympic and Paralympic Games from Athens 2004 to Paris 2024.

For over 20 years CAN Fund has been providing crucial financial support to the best athletic talent in Canada, helping them cover costs for training, coaching, nutrition, equipment, travel and basic living expenses. CAN Fund is a charity that offers 2 applications a year to which summer, winter, able-bodied and para athletes representing Canada on the world stage can apply.

Links:

CAN Fund: https://canadianathletesnow.ca/

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Please subscribe to the Sports for Social Impact Podcast wherever you get your podcast! Leave us a review and a 5 star rating to help bring others in the world of sports into the conversation! The Sports for Social Impact podcast was nominated for a Sports Podcast Award and Canadian Podcast Award.

Send us an email at ⁠⁠sportsforsocialimpact@gmail.com⁠⁠

Linktree: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/sportsforsocialimpact⁠⁠

Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/sports-for-social-impact⁠⁠

Follow us on Instagram (@SportsSocImpact)

Follow us on Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@sportssocimpact⁠

Visit our website at ⁠https://www.sportsforsocialimpact.com/⁠