Our Founder's Story
David Arsenault is a former National Taekwondo champion, proudly representing Canada multiple times in international competitions. After founding a successful community-based taekwondo school, David became a professional trainer for many executives and professional athletes.
David is a happy husband and a proud father who has devoted his life to teaching children how to move to the best of their abilities. His journey is guided by his love for movement and sharing his passion with others. As a visionary and driven change-maker, David advocates for strengthening physical literacy daily and stresses the importance of quality physical education in all our schools.
In hopes of inspiring others, I have always wanted to share my experience of learning physical literacy from a young age.
Growing up playing multiple sports and being active in every way possible, my brothers became high-level hockey players, I started taekwondo at the age of 14 and eventually became a National Champion. Later in my career, I had the privilege to pass my experience and knowledge to others, such as NHLers like Vincent Lecavalier, Patrice Bergeron, and Matt Lombardi, to name a few.
I was extremely blessed in many ways over the course of my life, making valuable connections with colleagues, mentors, and people from within my community. That ability to connect served as an inspiration during difficult times.
In 2006, our family lost my brother, Marc, to cancer. We were devastated. Marc was a community pillar, a loving husband, son and brother.
I started a non-profit organization back home in Dorval, Quebec, called Athletic Community Centres, to honour Marc and keep him in our memory. Through this program, I learned more about the lack of physical literacy and the general inactivity affecting much of Quebec’s and Canada’s children and youth. It was a problem I wanted to devote all my time and talents to solving.
In starting the Champions for Life Physical Literacy Program in 2013, I focused on tackling this issue while preserving my brother’s legacy in what I do, think, and feel. I hope to continue to positively affect the lives of children who may not have had the same opportunities that we did growing up.
To my parents and brother Steve, Marc’s wife Isabelle, and his children, Mathieu, Marie-Ève, and Laurie, I can’t think of a better way to honour Marc and hope we can all ‘Champion’ his spirit, energy, and light.
David Arsenault
Our History
2012
Intending to honour his brother Marc, David creates Athletic Community Centres, a non-profit organization promoting healthy, active communities.
David connects with Jean Carrière, a lifelong friend of his brother Marc and the Arsenault family. Jean wishes to support David with his initiative to honour his brother by helping him identify an area that needs particular attention in the emerging field of physical literacy.
Through
Athletic Community Centres, David Arsenault and Joanne Lawson become content creators for
Active for Life by contributing lesson plans and activities for their online directory of resources.
The initial 10-week
Champions for Life Program is launched as a pilot initiative in five elementary schools across Québec, made possible through the financial support of
Athletic Community Centres and
Igorius Inc.
2013
2014
Reaction to the Champions for Life Program is very positive, and it becomes a focus for Athletic Community Centres, growing to 16 schools.
The Champions for Life Foundation becomes incorporated in November.
The
Champions for Life Program is offered
in 36 schools.
2015
2016
The Champions for Life Foundation attains charitable status from the Canada Revenue Agency. The inaugural Board of Directors includes David Arsenault, Jean Carrière, and Dickens Mathurin.
The Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation commits to becoming our lead partner by financially supporting the Champions for Life Foundation for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2019.
The Champions for Life Program continues to scale to 56 schools.
David delivers a presentation for Athletic Therapists at Concordia University and meets
Dr. Richard DeMont, Ph.D., CAT(C), ATC, a professor in the Department of Health, Kinesiology & Applied Physiology at Concordia University. Both agree to collaborate on a series of studies on the program, with the support of Active for Life, to measure the program's validity, reliability, and intervention.
The
Champions for Life Program grows
to 75 schools.
2017
2018
Suzanne Laberge from the University of Montreal recruits Master's students who write a paper evaluating the Champions for Life Program.
The
Power Corporation of Canada becomes a program partner for the next three years, supporting our mission from 2018 to 2021.
David joins the Montreal Chapter of the Entrepreneur’s Organization Accelerator Program with the support and coaching of
Shawn Johal.
The
Champions for Life Program grows
to 88 schools.
The
Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation renews its commitment as a lead partner by supporting the Champions for Life Foundation for three more years, from 2019 to 2022.
Shawn Johal joins the Champions for Life Board of Directors in October.
The
Champions for Life Program grows to 90 schools.
2019
2020
Amidst global challenges, Champions for Life Foundation showcases resilience and adaptability in 2020. The Foundation swiftly pivots to address urgent needs arising from the pandemic, providing essential support to vulnerable school communities.
We build our Learning Management System, which we call our
Physical Literacy Toolbox, to help scale our programs remotely.
We launch our first
Improve Your Moves virtual fundraising campaign.
We redesign and refresh our Foundation's website to reflect our expanding program offer.
In 2021, Champions for Life harnesses the spirit of innovation to amplify its impact. New initiatives are launched, leveraging technology to bridge gaps in education and physical literacy. Partnerships with forward-thinking organizations blossom, amplifying the foundation's influence and enabling it to reach new horizons.
Champions for Life publishes a manual of physical literacy tools, lesson plans and Resources for Physical Education Teachers.
Building on the past success of the Champions for Life Program, we leverage our Physical Literacy Toolbox learning platform to expand its reach by launching the Champions for Life "Connected" Program.
2021
2022
The
Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation renews its commitment as a lead partner by supporting the Champions for Life Foundation for three more years, from 2022 to 2025.
The
Power Corporation of Canada renews its commitment as a program partner for the next three years, supporting the mission from 2022 to 2025.
We receive a PAFC grant from the government of Quebec to expand our Champions for Life "Connected" Program into French schools in BC.
We launch our third Move For A Cause virtual fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 to support more schools in vulnerable and under-resourced communities.
We pilot and launch our
Little Champions Program, a collection of interactive classroom adventures that provide quality, physical literacy-based lessons for students in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.
We launch our Champions for Life Ambassador Network,
which includes passionate athletes, educators, and critical skill leaders committed to sharing their knowledge and support to help promote the development of physical literacy in our communities.
We launch a web store to sell and expand the availability of our physical literacy programs and resources.
We receive the 2023 PHE Canada Impact Award for our exemplary work and unique Physical and Health Education contribution.
Champions for Life and Recess Guardians join forces to empower young leaders in Canadian schools.
We earn a PHE Canada endorsement for the
Champions for Life Program and
Physical Education Teacher Resources.
We launch our fourth
Move For A Cause virtual fundraising campaign to raise $50,000 to support more schools in vulnerable and under-resourced communities.
2023
2024
More amazing milestones to come...
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Our mission is to empower children ages 4 to 12 to develop their physical literacy.