About Us

The Maverick Youth Opportunities Fund was launched in 2024 as a special initiative by the Maverick Volleyball Club to mark its 40^th anniversary and long-standing commitment to the volleyball community within Ottawa. Since its inception, the Club has evolved to become a leading volleyball program across the region, province, and county, recognized for its remarkable athletes and its recreational, competitive, and high-performance programs.

In the beginning, the Club’s philanthropy was very informal, consisting of donations generously given to athletes by the Club’s president and founder, Kerry MacLean, and many of his coaches. These donations were distributed to talented players who needed financial assistance to play the sport they all loved – volleyball!

In 2015, a three-person committee was created, called the Maverick Benevolent Fund. This committee implemented several steps to make the application process more accessible and formal. Since its inception, the Maverick Benevolent Fund received donations from the Club, coaches, and other generous donors. Since 2015, it has disbursed $70,000 to more than 50 athletes who demonstrated a financial need to participate in Maverick programs. As the demand for funding grew every year, the Club realized that they needed to “up its game” to raise more funds to help young athletes in the National Capital Region to thrive in today’s challenging environment. Like many other organizations, COVID emphasized the incredible benefits of sport to help youth address mental health issues, social inclusion, health and wellness, life skills, and just plain and active fun!

In September 2024, the Maverick Youth Opportunities Fund become a registered charity. This new charity will help to raise money and invest in programs that will help not only Maverick athletes, but all youth in the Ottawa area, to play any sport they love and be empowered to be a positive force in their community through essential life skill and leadership training!