An Ontario Non-Profit Since 2013
Everybody Plays. That's The Whole Idea.
We connect people through play. Since 2013. One wall, one park, one classroom at a time.
It Started With A Piece Of Chalk.
Markham, 2013. A few friends playing street hockey get told to clear the road. Again. They drag two steel nets to the nearest schoolyard, and one of them, sick of hauling the second net, picks up a piece of chalk and draws a goal on the wall.
It worked. And it raised a question we're still asking: what other spaces could become places to play, without waiting for a new facility?
That chalked goal became Sportswalls: painted courts on the blank walls schools already own. The first ones went up at St. Henry Catholic School later that year.
Then nothing happened. Kids walked right past them. Teachers didn't know what they were for. A court is useless if nobody knows how to play on it. So we went back and taught them, and the walls filled up. Everything since has followed that lesson: paint, plus a game, plus somebody to invite you in.
What The Idea Became.
From one chalk goal to schoolyards, classrooms and Saturday games.
I never set out to start a non-profit. I just didn't want to carry the second net. More than a decade later, I still believe what that piece of chalk taught me: nobody should be priced out of playing, and you don't have to be good. You just have to show up. Thanks for being part of it.
Where We’re Going.
A free game in every neighbourhood. A Sportswall at every elementary school. Kids with something to do after school that isn't a screen. Grown-ups who want to move and meet people without committing to a whole season.
That is how GANP is working to make Ontario the most active province in Canada. Ontario is where we prove it works. What we learn here should be simple enough for any community in Canada to pick up and run.
Run It. Learn From It. Help Others Run It.
GANP starts local, learns from real programs and turns what works into tools other communities can use. Four steps, on repeat.
1. Run It
We deliver the program ourselves. Sorauren Park is where GANP Saturdays took shape. Seventeen schoolyards are where we learned how Sportswalls work in practice.
2. Learn From It
We record participation where we can, review delivery costs and note the problems that affect the program.
3. Improve It
What didn't work gets fixed or cut. The first Sportswalls taught us paint alone isn't enough. Now every wall comes with games and a plan.
4. Help Others Run It
We turn what we learned into simple tools: equipment lists, game plans, lesson packs and safety steps. We are developing and testing these so a school, city or neighbour can run the same programs.
Who Runs GANP
A working board. Every program, every dollar and every school visit has a name attached to it.
Mark Ucieklak
Founder and Executive Director
Runs the programs day to day: Saturdays at Sorauren, Sportswall builds and the school partnerships.
Amanda Miorano
Marketing and Community
Leads our marketing, communications and community outreach, and owns how GANP looks and sounds. Posters, signs and the look of the games.
Julia Flower
Board Member
Governance and financial oversight. Votes on the budget and signs off on what we run.
The board meets to approve the budget, review spending and decide which programs run. Schools, boards and funders can ask us for meeting minutes or a written spending summary at any time. Ask us.
The Legal Details
- Legal name
- Get Active 'N Play.
- Founded
- 2013, in Markham, Ontario.
- Status
- A registered Ontario non-profit, not a registered charity, so gifts are not tax-deductible.
- Serves
- Ontario, based in Toronto.
- Contact
- Get in touch.
Thirteen Years Of Showing Up.
Not what we did last year. What we've built since 2013.
Backed over the years by the Government of Canada, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Jumpstart and ParticipACTION. Worked in schools within the Toronto Catholic, Peel, York Catholic and Halton boards, and in the neighbourhoods of Toronto Community Housing.
Now Pick Your Way In.
Reading about it is the easy part. Every bit of this started because somebody showed up.
Come Saturday
Free pickleball and volleyball at Sorauren Park. Come alone. Somebody gets you into a game.
Bring It To A School
A lesson that moves, a month-long writing challenge, or a blank wall turned into a court.
Keep It Free
Five dollars a month buys paddles, nets and park permits, so the next person can just turn up.