CALGARY (September 10, 2009) -- Canadians will now have the opportunity to give some of the world's most disadvantaged youth the Right To Play, thanks to a unique calendar launched on Thursday by some of Canada's highest-profiled Olympic and Paralympic medal-winning athletes.

Led by two-time Olympic medallist in cross-country skiing, Beckie Scott, more than one dozen of Canada's highest-profiled athletes developed the elegant calendar, which features extraordinary photos, athlete biographies, and motivational quotations,  in support of Right To Play, an international humanitarian organization working to create a healthier and safer world for children through the power of sport and play. Right To Play is the leading international humanitarian and development organization using the transformative power of sport and play to build essential skills in children and thereby drive social change in communities affected by war, poverty, and disease.

"As Canadians, we often take for granted how fortunate we are to have access to sport and recreational activities, which plays such a critical role in our personal and social development," said Beckie Scott, special advisor to Right To Play, Western Canada. "This calendar is an easy opportunity for all Canadians to invest in giving children worldwide the Right To Play, while receiving a daily reminder of the heights we all can achieve in life through hard work and commitment."

Scott, and six of the eighteen of her fellow Olympians featured in the calendar, including Kyle Shewfelt (gymnastics), Emily Brydon (alpine skiing), Mellisa Hollingsworth (skeleton), along with Hayley Wickenheiser and teammates from the Women's Hockey Team officially, unveiled the project over the noon hour at Bankers Hall in downtown Calgary, Thursday. Athletes took time out of their busy training schedules to meet corporate Calgary and sign calendars, which are on sale now for twenty dollars at www.righttoplay.ca.

The calendar pages have a two-tiered photo approach: displaying a photo of a Right To Play Athlete Ambassador in sport competition, and the other photo of the athlete visiting a Right To Play sport and play project around the world. Twelve of the eighteen featured athletes have visited a Right To Play project.

"Right To Play provides an extremely powerful mechanism for children to access learning tools that make a difference in their lives and their communities," said Mellisa Hollingsworth, who visited an RTP project in Ghana after winning her Olympic bronze medal in 2006. "Seeing Right To Play first-hand was an extremely emotional and inspiring experience, and I am encouraging all Canadians to support us in making a small difference for children in the areas of the world where Right To Play operates by purchasing one of our calendars."

All proceeds from the calendar will go to support Right To Play's sport and play programs across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

About Right To Play

Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in the most disadvantaged areas of the world. Working in both the humanitarian and development context, Right To Play builds local capacity by training community leaders as Coaches to deliver its programs in more than 20 countries affected by war, poverty, and disease in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 2000, Right To Play is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has national offices in Canada, China, Norway, The Netherlands, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The national offices raise funds, build awareness for Right To Play programs and advocate for sport for development.