Monday, June 3 - 1:30 p.m.
Caring Canadian Award Presentation
His Excellency will present the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award to the Langley Little League team for their community service during the 2012 Pearl of Africa Series. The team raised funds with Right to Play Canada to help the Uganda Baseball and Softball Association provide hope and inspiration to that country’s children. The recipients’ names and the team’s full citation can be found below.
Township of Langley Civic Facility, 20338 65 Avenue, Langley

CARING CANADIAN AWARD RECIPIENTS AND CITATION

Ruth Hoffman - Pearl of Africa Series Coordinator
Nick Atkinson -  player
Ian Burns -  player
Cole Cantelon -  player
Ken Dubois -  player
Riley Ens -  player
Connor McCreath -  player
Trevor Miller -  player
Yi-An Pan -  player
Yi-Fan Pan -  player
Colby Ring -  player
Chuck Dufton - Umpire
Ed Levinson - Umpire
Rick Burns - Coach
Dean Cantelon - Coach
Christine Ens – Team coordinator

In August 2011, a Ugandan baseball team was scheduled to face the Langley team at the Little League World Series in the United States. However, the game had to be cancelled when the Ugandan players were denied visas to enter the United States. When Ruth Hoffman saw a picture of the Ugandan team huddled around a TV, watching the game they should have played, she was overwhelmed with a sense of injustice. The Langley team felt the same way. Together, they decided to travel to Uganda to hold the missed match-up. After working to mobilize support from the Langley community, Right to Play and Major League Baseball, the game took place: Uganda won by a score of 2-1. The larger story is how this baseball game has changed lives in Canada and Uganda by raising awareness of the impact of poverty, establishing a scholarship fund for the Ugandan team, and building lasting friendships between the young players on both teams.