Ever Active

Ever Active Schools began in 2001 as a special project of the Health and Physical Education Council (HPEC) of the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA). Its goal was to provide professional development opportunities for health and physical education teachers in Alberta. Over the years, Ever Active Schools expanded to offer grant-funded project work, classroom resources and numerous partnership opportunities. In September 2020, Ever Active Schools transitioned from its home within the ATA to a standalone charity, formerly named Active Healthy Kids Canada. This charity was active in Ontario and instrumental in public awareness of youth health status through the publishing of the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card (now the ParticipACTION Report Card). Active Healthy Kids Canada was acquired late in 2017 by a board of directors based in Alberta to be a platform for thought leadership, coordination, and awareness for the importance of upstream approaches to healthy school communities. Between 2017 and 2019, Ever Active Schools acted as an implementation partner, a relationship that was governed by a partnership agreement under board approval. Given the passage of time for the new board of directors to mature with enhanced board capacity, the opportunity arose in 2019 for the successful implementation partnership to be formalized into the transition of Ever Active Schools to become the charity. Ever Active Schools' relationship with the ATA, HPEC and government ministries is expected to continue through partnership agreements and advisory opportunities. The shift in governance enabled the alignment of purpose between Ever Active Schools operations and the Active Healthy Kids Canada charity for enhanced impact, as well as a greater range of possibilities for both strategic guidance, partnership, and funding opportunities.