Send-A-Kid-To-Camp Continues To Grow
(FREDERICTON, NB) While much of the UNB campus is relatively quiet in early August, the gym inside the Richard J. Currie Center is, most days, filled with the roar of kids enjoying summer sport camps.
The sound of balls bouncing and sneakers squeaking competes with shouting and laughter.
Basketball and volleyball are just two of the offerings on the REDS’ summer sport camp menu.
In 2025, the REDS will hold a total of 30 different week-long camps that will see more than 1300 children attend.
Ten of those attending in 2025 are doing so on bursaries provided by the Send-A-Kid-To-Camp program.
“Send-A-Kid-To-Camp is an initiative to send less fortunate children to our sports camps free of charge,” said Katie Butts, a member of the REDS’ women’s basketball team. “We raise money, and these children (their families) can apply and then we give them an opportunity they might not otherwise be able to take advantage of.”
Send-A-Kid was something Butts proposed in 2022, following her first season with the REDS.
“After my first year my coach at the time, Speedy (current REDS’ Athletic Director Jeff Speedy), he pulled me aside for end-of-year meetings and he said something I will never forget. He said I see a lot of myself in you because of your passion to give back and all of the time you’re putting into the community. Then he said if you want to do something bigger, if you want to do something you can call your own, we’re going to make it happen. So I went home for summer, thought about an idea, came back and proposed Send-A-Kid-To-Camp and the ball has been rolling ever since.”
“This program was Katie’s idea, and she is the main reason why it has been so successful,” said Jeff Speedy, who recruited Butts to UNB and coached her during her first two seasons as a RED.
Erin McAleenan, who took over for Speedy ahead of the 2023-24 Atlantic University Sport season, has become a strong supporter of Butts’ continued efforts.
SEND-A-KID CLINICS
Butts has been the driving force behind the program.
She’s spearheaded the sale of REDS Basketball gear with all the proceeds going to fund Send-A-Kid scholarships.
Parents registering children for camps can add a donation to their registration cost, and the program accepts donations from anyone, whether they’re registering campers or not.
2025 sees a new addition to the program’s fund-raising repertoire.
“We’re doing Send-A-Kid-To-Camp clinics,” said Butts. “On August 24th we’re hosting two clinics total for ages U8 and U10, boys and girls, where they get to come for an hour and a half in the gym and learn some new skills, have fun, play games, and the last 30 minutes will be autographs and pictures with their favourite REDS players.”
The 2025-26 Atlantic University Sport season will be Butts’ final season as a student-athlete, and among her many goals for the season is finding a teammate to continue the work she started.
“My team is so helpful and willing and they’re just such a good-hearted group of girls, so I know that I’ll find someone willing and wanting to take it over when I leave,” she said. “It’s just a matter of to who and when to pass the torch.”
MORE THAN JUST BASKETBALL
While Butts seeks her successor, she’s proud of what the program has become and thankful for the help provided by so many.
“It’s grown bigger than I could’ve imagined,” she said. “It started off as a little project and here we are, four years later and it’s spread through all the sports. You can choose to send a kid to soccer camp or track camp or multi-sport camp or whatever. That’s really cool, to see how much support we’ve been getting.”
Butts’ work with the Send-A-Kid initiative has been recognized regionally and nationally.
In 2024 and 2025, she was named winner of Atlantic University Sport’s women’s basketball student-athlete community service award. In 2025, Butts was the recipient of U SPORTS’ Sylvia Sweeney Award for student-athlete community service.
“Katie is a very special young lady,” said Speedy. “She is having a positive impact on our community and making a difference in the lives of many young children.”
Butts says once her playing days are done and she becomes a UNB alumnus, she’ll continue to have a hand in the program.
“I’ll never let this go,” she said. “I want to look back and see all of these kids who’ve come through the program, who had smiling faces and a great week of camp. Hopefully a handful will continue to pursue their sports and, best case scenario, become the next UNB stars of whatever sport they’re doing.”
Send-A-Kid-To-Camp bursaries are awarded to applicants.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics