Strachan Hartley Legacy Foundation

The Strachan Hartley Legacy Foundation carries out Dr Strachan Hartley’s purpose of Making a Difference in the world after his life was tragically cut short by cancer in 2007 at age 30. SHLF focuses on providing youth the opportunity to achieve their full potential through sports and education.

SHLF believes in the inherent power of sports to educate and develop young people in a positive manner – to teach crucial life skills that can make a difference between success and failure; perseverance and giving up; between potential fulfilled and potential wasted; between energy used for the benefit of society, and energy used against it.

All funds raised will go to the incredible Streetfront program. Streetfront is an alternative program at Britannia Secondary School that provides at risk grade 8 to 10 students a unique combination of 60% core academics and 40% sports and outdoor education. The East Vancouver alternative program is economically, ethnically and socially diverse and serves kids who have struggled to cope in mainstream. 

Marathon running is at the core of the Streetfront program. The program also focuses on sports and outdoor activities as avenues to teach. The school spends 35 school days outdoors. Streetfront students and graduates are remarkable young people with great stories of personal triumph. By seeing the inherent value of each individual student and investing in their emotional, spiritual, mental and physical development, students unlock their own potential. Streetfront graduates have a 96% high school graduation rate. Most go onward to study, work and become active citizens.

“If you believe enough, if you care enough, if you fight enough, you can make anything come true. You’ll finish bloody and battered but you will cross that finish line. There’s no doubt about that. Nobody is giving up. Not on this day.”

Trevor Stokes, Head teacher at Streetfront