Montreal Alouettes

Together at School with CN and the Alouettes is a community outreach program supporting elementary and high school students in the greater Montreal area. The Alouettes have been active in Montreal schools since 1998, with CN having teamed up in 2001. The players visited 123 schools in 2012, reaching out to over 60,000 students at both the elementary and high school levels. This year's visits began on January 29 and will run through the end of April. The Alouettes players involved in the program for 2013 include: Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, John Bowman, Anthony Barrette, Martin Bédard, Josh Bourke, Éric Deslauriers, Sean Whyte, Scott Flory, Kristian Matte, Ameet Pall, Wopamo Osaisai, Michael Carter and Patrick Lavoie. Players taking part must first undergo 32 hours of training from specialists in the field of mentoring and counseling in order to be best equipped to help the students. New to the program in 2013 is a French language component where the players will receive French lessons in order to further interact with the children they will visit. The weekly French classes will run through the end of April. The program's main goal is to encourage kids to stay in school while focusing on a wide array of challenges that students face today, ranging from bullying and academic performance to peer pressure and the importance of staying active. The players look to inspire and motivate the students they meet to make the right choices and to reach their full potential through hard work and dedication. Together at School with CN and the Alouettes initiatives fall under three categories: • Elementary: Each two-hour visit includes 4 to 6 players who divide themselves up and go into each classroom to speak to the children. All students then congregate in the gym where activities and games are played by the students and the players. • High School: Each one-hour visit sees one player lead a motivational conference attended by the student body where the player draws on their own personal experiences to inspire those in attendance. The floor is then open for an interactive Q+A session with the player. • Tutoring: Launching in October 2012, participating schools will receive tutoring twice a week. The tutors are volunteer students from local Universities and are joined by Alouettes players who provide mentoring, support and leadership to those receiving tutorial aid.