There's more to hockey than winning, losing and scoring goals.
Many teams and leagues in sports across Canada emphasize to their players the importance of community involvement and giving back.
This year, the BC Hockey zone teams were encouraged to give back to the communities in which they play. Each team was free to choose their own contribution to the community.
"We had an initiative this year for our zone players in the Thompson/Okanagan region to come up with something they could do to give back in the area where the players and staff live," said BC Hockey Okanagan Zone Lead, Rob Evers. "I couldn't be more proud of the players on the Bantam North Zone Kings for what they planned, accomplished and the positive impact they made on so many lives over the holidays."
The North Okanagan Zone Bantam team decided to raise money for four (4) families, from four (4) communities some of the players call home, to support them during the holidays.
This was a great opportunity for the boys to think about someone else's life and the struggle that many people have to provide the basic needs for the families - food, shelter and clothing.
"We realize we are extremely fortunate to play hockey and have the things we have, so it is important for us to share with those less fortunate," said player Riley Cormier.
Enderby (Gage Parrell), Salmon Arm (Jaxon Hadath, Charlie Kehl, Maddux Martin, Nathan Mayes, Oscar Mayes, Kellan Mooney, Trent Thiessen, Max Backner), Revelstoke (Hunter Fuoco, Ryan Howe, Kurtis Kinoshita) and Vernon (Cormier, Ryder De Nys, Tyson Matthews, Maguire Nicholson, Erik Pastro, Kyle Wheeler) were selected by the team.
The team reached out to local agencies dedicated to helping the less fortunate to help put them in contact with families in need. The team had $500 per family to shop for gifts and food items.
The boys had some great gift ideas for the children and really got into choosing the appropriate items and other Christmas favourites.
