‘Choose to include’: Special Olympics donut proceeds help athletes compete

Athletes from a dozen teams from Windsor to Hamilton gathered in Aylmer Saturday morning to compete in an annual basketball tournament.

The St. Thomas Police Service Pipes and Drums Band welcomed the athletes for the opening ceremonies prior to action.

“I’m very excited to get into the competition here,” said Dillon Calvert, a member of the St. Thomas Swish basketball team.

The excitement was palpable with dignitaries and members of the Aylmer, St. Thomas, and OPP forces delivering speeches to the athletes.

“I think is really near and dear to most officers’ hearts,” said Chief Kyle Johnstone of the Aylmer Police Service. “There’s a genuine connection behind it and it’s not just something people do; it’s something that the officers really believe in. You can really see it in things like today.”

The basketball tournament put on by the St. Thomas Swish features a competitive and non-competitive division. It also takes place during the same weekend as the Special Olympics donut promotional campaign.

The funds from the #ChoosetoInclude donut help pay for tournaments like this one.

“It helps us getting to and from basketball and helps pay for the tournament,” said Swish player Chris Freeman.

The Tim Horton’s campaign helps supplement funding for Special Olympic teams, in complement to the law enforcement torch Run (LETR).

“It’s a national campaign and across Canada and last year, we raised $1.3 million just from people purchasing a donut on donut weekend,” said Derek Spence of LETR.

He added, “It’s very important those funds go directly towards supporting the athletes. Including their programing, school rentals, equipment, and unforms. Every dollar counts and last year in Ontario, we raised over $600,000 right here in Ontario. So hopefully this year we can kind of beat that number.”

Police forces and supporters have been posting all weekend about their visits to purchase a donut.

“We’ve made our stops at Tim Hortons and I’m sure there’s going to be a couple more in our future,” said Johnstone. “We encourage anyone else who’s out there to spend the money on the donut because the proceeds go entirely to Special Olympics.”

A reminder about what the tournament and competition is all about was recited in their oath just prior to tip off.

“Let me win, and if I can not win, let me be brave in the attempt,” the athletes said.