In the month of June, $6,111 was raised for Jumpstart, a 30 percent increase from last year.

David Dunseath, an Associate Dealer at the Winkler Canadian Tire, explained the funds go towards helping underprivileged kids between the ages of 4 and 18 to participate in sports. He notes customers can still give all year at the till despite Jumpstart only being promoted in the month of June.

Mark's Work Warehouse, in Winkler, and Sport Check, also participate in collecting funds for the Jumpstart Program.

Regional Connections, Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS), and the Morden/Winkler Sport and Recreational programs are partners with Canadian Tire in the Morden/Winkler area. The programs are able to direct families who struggle financially to the Jumpstart program to help with putting their kids in sports.

"There is a great potential that they'll go to post-secondary school," Dunseath says, noting studies have been done by Canadian Tire showing a benefit to recreational sports and the positive effect on the kids lives when they reach adulthood.

Dunseath says an issue is the "word-of-mouth" aspect, which isn't as effective as Dunseath would like because families don't want to admit to having a financial struggle, but the awareness of the program is still there.

"We will do whatever it takes to get kids into sports."

Jumpstart started across Canada in 2006 with plans to continue moving forward.