Getting to the heart of the Roughrider Foundation and its impact

The impact of football is also evident when you look beyond everything that goes into constructing and celebrating a Grey Cup champion.

Consider the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation’s contributions to communities across the province.

The many exemplary initiatives were highlighted on Thursday when the Foundation held an Impact Report presentation — “Stories from the Heartland” — at Mosaic Stadium’s Jim Hopson Auditorium.

In addition to citing a series of impressive numbers, the Foundation provided a forum for highly personal, often poignant, stories.

Rick and Debbie West, for example, honoured the memory of their son, Lincoln, who was 17 when he passed away in June of 2024. Lincoln had battled mental health issues.

“Our hope is that Lincoln’s story helps everyone in this room understand why the Roughrider Foundation is so important,” said Rick West, who resides in White City.

The Foundation’s three pillars are education, health and amateur football. One of the key programs, Win With Wellness, enables Roughriders player ambassadors to visit schools and discuss the importance of mental health.

“As a teenaged boy, Lincoln was afraid of the stigma attached to mental health,” his father said. “He chose to suffer in silence.

“When it comes to mental illness, silence is our enemy.”

After Lincoln’s untimely death, his parents discovered his mental health issues dated back to when he was in Grade 8.

By establishing the Lincoln’s Life Mattered Foundation, Rick and Debbie have made it their mission to emphasize the importance of talking about mental health in the hope that countless other tragedies will be averted.

“Each of us can be the person who checks in, listens without judgment, and includes rather than excludes,” Debbie said.

“One small act of kindness can change a life.”

With that in mind, the Foundation scheduled 878 Win With Wellness presentations in 2025-26, when 171 schools were visited. The total audience consisted of 24,071 students.

The Foundation’s literacy program, Rider Reading, reached 170 schools and consisted of 878 presentations in 2025-26. Rider Reading reached 21,648 students and distributed 1,916 books to kindergarten classrooms.

As part of the Foundation’s Summer Rider Reading Challenge, youngsters logged 132,826 reading minutes in the summer of 2025.

One student, named Everly, set the benchmark with 17,520 reading minutes — or 292 hours!

On top of all that, the Foundation invested more than $3.3 million directly into amateur football in Saskatchewan. The record-shattering contribution was made possible by the Foundation’s 50/50 draws, presented by ISC.

Beyond the proceeds, there was the time invested in 50 youth football camps across the province. More than 2,000 young athletes were able to experience the camps.

The Grow the Game School Pilot, often held in conjunction with Rider Reading and Win With Wellness visits, brought football into schools’ gymnasiums and hallways in 2025-26.

As well, the Foundation once again worked closely with the Northern Saskatchewan Football Jamboree — presented by First Nations University of Canada.

The inaugural Girls Summit was enjoyed by nearly 200 young women who took part in sessions held in Regina and Saskatoon.

Taking everything into consideration, player ambassadors travelled 26,664 kilometres to deliver school programs in 2025-26, reaching 45,719 students — the equivalent of the entire population of Moose Jaw or Prince Albert … and then some.

Additionally, the Foundation worked closely with KidSport Saskatchewan, providing $55,000-plus in funding that allowed 241 kids to play football across the province in 2025.

“The support from the Foundation is helping us to make a difference in youth’s lives across our province — one player, one team, community at a time,” said Tammy Hoffart, KidSport Saskatchewan’s Provincial Co-ordinator.

The Foundation was established in 2019 as the charitable arm of the community-owned Roughriders.

“The first day I came to work, it was me … and then COVID hit, so we’ve come a long way,” Executive Director Cindy Fuchs said.

“I knew when I took this job on that we would have success. I didn’t realize it would happen this fast, but I underestimated the power of Rider Nation.

“It just reinforces that we live in a great province. People care here — and they really care about kids.”

For more information about the Foundation, <a href="https://www.riderville.com/foundation/">CLICK HERE</a>.

MEET THE FOUNDATION TEAM

Roughrider Foundation staff (2025): Cindy Fuchs (Executive Director), Tyler Lloyd (Director of Development), Marnie Forsberg (Manager, Community Programs), Sandra Berkan (School Presentation Scheduler), Amanda Delparte (Events and Development Co-ordinator), Caleb Blundell (Operations and Stewardship Associate), Nathaniel Cruz (Marketing Content Co-ordinator), Makayla Lang (Office Admin Intern), Noah Pelletier (Summer Program Co-ordinator Intern), Brynn Jarvis (Summer Program Co-ordinator Intern).

Roughrider Foundation player ambassadors: Albert Awachie, Jacob Brammer, Charbel Dabire, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Samuel Emilus, Logan Ferland, Jorgen Hus, Micah Johnson, Brett Lauther, Mitch Picton, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Tommy Stevens, Noah Zerr.

Roughrider Foundation board: Craig Reynolds, Cari Bode, Barry Clarke, Jason Clermont, Zeba Ahmad, Kent Paul, Kimberly Stonechild.