When his dad was battling cancer, a young Drew Beckie turned to a program called Kids Alive.

The initiative was all about supporting kids as their parents fought the disease -- not financial support, but people to lean on, talk to or just spend a few hours hanging out and thinking about happier things.

Though Beckie's dad died when the Fury FC defender was only 11 after a four-year illness, his experience with Kids Alive stuck with him.

This week, Beckie and the Fury launched a similar program called WINGS.

It stands for Walking In Grief's Shadow and it aims to give kids who have lost a parent to cancer an outlet to deal with what they are going through with someone who has been there before.

"I had a lot of support and I think when you're that age, from being very young to your teenage years, it's important for your development to make sure you're grieving the right way," Beckie said.

That's not to say that there's one right way to handle the loss of a parent, but the idea of WINGS is to help that process along, in whatever way works for the kids.

For Beckie, his dad's death meant the loss of an important role model at a key time in his development and also gave his mom a heavier load to shoulder on her own.

"When one of your parents dies, a lot falls on the other parent," he said.

"They have so much to do, they can't always give you the necessary special time that you want with them.

"(With Kids Alive) people came into my life and became that so-called father figure for me and that was great, it made me the man I am today. Being a man you need man time, so I was very lucky that people stepped in and helped me." The launch of WINGS is Beckie's way of giving back for something that had a profound impact on him.

The program sets kids up with tickets to attend an Ottawa Fury FC game, a post-game tour of the dressing room, a meeting with Beckie and the opportunity to meet other members of the team.

Beckie said he hopes to grow the program into a regular gathering, where kids can hang out and talk -- or not talk -- about what they're going through.

"I'd love for it to grow to maybe meeting once or twice a month, with snacks and video games," said the 24-year-old.

"If they want to talk, they talk, but there's no pressure to. Just having fun and not thinking about it for a while could be a good thing.

The program is already getting plenty of interest and one local family has already taken advantage.

Richard Valente, owner of the Fratelli restaurants, lost his brother Roberto to cancer this year and recently brought his brother's children to hang out with Beckie.

"This is a fantastic initiative that Drew is providing for kids in our community," said Valente.

"My niece and nephews were the first to benefit from this program. After losing their father ... to cancer earlier this year it was great to have another outlet for them."

That's all Beckie wants to do.

"Things happen in a certain way where they're not fair but at least I had him for 11 years and some kids don't have their parents at all," he said.

"(At first) I was angry, I was mad, I was sad, but you begin to look at it as, what is being mad going to do about it? It's not going to solve anything.

"You don't move on from it necessarily but you cope. I'm great today, I wish he was here but I'm just fine."

For more information or to sign up with WINGS, e-mail WINGS@OttawaFuryFC.com or visit OttawaFuryFC.com.\

Twitter: @chrishofley