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A family sharing the loss of their son, a principal describing the excitement of a Rider player walking into a classroom, and a teenage football player explaining how he stayed in the game.
Those were some of the stories at the centre of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation’s annual impact report Thursday, which moved beyond statistics and financial figures to focus on the people affected by its work.
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The event, titled Stories from the Heartland, highlighted the foundation’s three core pillars: mental health, education and amateur football.
According to the foundation’s annual report, its programs reached 45,719 students during the past year, included visits to 181 schools and saw staff and player ambassadors travel more than 26,000 kilometres across Saskatchewan.
“This year we said, ‘Why don’t we tell our story?’” Saskatchewan Roughrider Foundation executive director Cindy Fuchs said following the presentation.
“If we can share the impact that we’re actually making, we can make more impact.”
Turning loss into purpose
One of the most emotional moments of the afternoon came from Rick and Debbie West of White City.
The couple shared the story of their son, Lincoln West, who died in 2024 after struggling with mental illness.
“We share Lincoln’s story not for pity but for purpose,” Rick West told the audience.
West described Lincoln as a strong student, athlete and friend who struggled privately.
“As a teenage boy, he was afraid of the stigma attached to mental illness and he chose to suffer in silence,” he said.
Following Lincoln’s death, the family created Lincoln’s Life Mattered Foundation to promote mental health awareness and encourage young people to seek help.
The Wests have since connected with the Roughrider Foundation through its school-based mental wellness programming.
Fuchs said the partnership developed after the family reached out to learn more about the foundation’s work.
“We instantly knew that there was a connection,” she said.
The family believes hearing messages about mental health from professional athletes can resonate with young people, particularly boys.
“Silence is our enemy,” Rick West said.
He added that Lincoln told his family his struggles began in Grade 8, reinforcing the importance of reaching children before they reach a crisis point.
Literacy lessons beyond the classroom
Education is another major focus for the foundation.
Its literacy programming reached 21,648 students in 170 schools during the past year, according to the report.
St. Catherine Community School principal Lindsay Morhardt said visits from Rider players create an immediate impact.
“When a professional football player walks through the doors of your school, you can instantly feel the mood shift,” Morhardt said.
Students often remember those visits long after they happen.
Morhardt recalled one teacher sharing a story about a Grade 2 student who later pointed to a book in the school library and excitedly said, “That’s the book the Rider read to us.”
Fuchs said schools continue to request the program year after year.
“There’s a waitlist every year to get back in the schools,” she said.
Teachers have told her that while the lessons support classroom learning, students often absorb the message differently when it comes from someone they look up to.
The annual report notes the Rider Reading program delivered 878 presentations and distributed 1,916 books to kindergarten classrooms across Saskatchewan.
Removing barriers to sport
The foundation’s third pillar focuses on amateur football and helping young athletes access the game.
Among those speaking Thursday was Regina teenager Malik Dixon, who credits football with helping shape who he is today.
“Football has given me so much more than just a sport to play,” Dixon said.
“It has helped me develop important skills, build lifelong friendships and truly work hard at something I love.”
Dixon also spoke about the role KidSport Saskatchewan played in helping him stay involved.
“Without that support, I may not have had the chance to play the game I love,” he said.
According to KidSport Saskatchewan provincial co-ordinator Tammy Hoffart, support from the Roughrider Foundation helped fund football participation for more than 240 young people across Saskatchewan in 2025.
The report also highlights the foundation’s continued investment in grassroots football, including more than 50 Grow the Game camps that reached over 2,000 youth and a school pilot program that introduced football to another 1,000 students.
Fuchs said university athletes running pop-up camps have already introduced more than 4,400 children to football since May.
“We have a great province that we live in,” she said. “People care here, and they really care about kids.”
While the annual report contained plenty of numbers, Thursday’s presentation focused on the stories behind them — stories of students inspired to read, young athletes finding a place to belong and families working to ensure others receive the support their loved ones never had.
For Fuchs, those stories are the clearest measure of the foundation’s success.
“Every year we’re able to move the needle a little bit further and make a little more of a difference in the lives of young people across this province,” she said. “That is something that drives us every single day.”
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