Tex Dean grew up just south of the city in Red Rock in a single-parent family of three kids.

Back when he was kid, Dean always wanted to play high school sports, but money was in short supply and he never had enough to cover the additional fees. His dream to play went unfulfilled.

Dean is part of a team now, working for Telus as a customer care representative, and his success in a company competition to gain new customers will mean some underprivileged student athletes in School District 57 will no longer have a money barrier that prevents them from playing school sports.

Telus has in-house recognition plans that reward its employees in the city for their work in promoting products and services. The top employee in each department in those competitions is given the right to choose which charitable organization will receive a

company donation of $5,000.

Dean pooled his resources with Telus employee competition winners Cathy Moe and Brenda Laviolette to collect $15,000 and found an additional $2,025 in company funding available from the fitness centre budget and 50/50 draw to give School District 57 $17,025 to fund its Dream to Play program for high school students.

“When I was in high school we couldn’t afford to do the extra stuff like sports and I know how important it is for [building] self-esteem and, even when you get into the workforce, being able to build a team environment,” said Dean.

“I really wanted to see the money we were donating stay within the Prince George community and see it build for the future. I really enjoyed soccer and it was just out of reach. There are lots of sports out there that only cost an extra $100, but to some people that’s a lot of money. Now this foundation can fork out that money to help them out.”

The money will be allocated over the next five years, offering two $500 grants to high school students in each of the three seasons of school sports to cover fees for transportation, uniforms, entry fees and travel costs.

“The TELUS donation to date is part of an ongoing commitment to School District No. 57 athletics and will assist 30 students in the next five years,” said school board chairperson Sharel Warrington.

The cheque was presented to the school district at the board meeting on Jan. 24. At the same meeting, one Telus employee chose to split up the allocation and gave a $1,000 donation to the D.P. Todd secondary school band music program.

In January, Telus handed over $10,000 to the Prince George Hospice Society.