Saskatchewan Roughriders receive inaugural Chris Schultz Community Impact Award

Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have won the inaugural Chris Schultz Community Impact Award.

According to a release, the new honour will be presented annually to the CFL team that “demonstrates exceptional support for the Purolator Tackle Hunger program through food security advocacy, significant non-perishable food and monetary donations, and meaningful fan and community engagement.”

“We are incredibly honoured to accept this first-ever award that represents our unwavering commitment to helping our community,” said team president and CEO Craig Reynolds in a statement. “We value our partnership with Purolator and the success we have had in helping to fight food insecurity in Saskatchewan.”

At this past year’s game against the Toronto Argonauts in July, the Riders collected non-perishable food items and monetary donations that resulted in 29,122 pounds of food being donated to the Regina Food Bank.

Schultz was the spokesperson for the Purolator Tackle Hunger program, which has helped generate 20 million pounds of food for Canadian food banks over the past two decades.

The native of Burlington, Ont. played nine seasons along the offensive line for the Argonauts and earned two All-CFL selections before embarking on a 20-year broadcasting career at TSN, which resulted in his induction into the media wing of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2021 at the age of 61.