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Day 10: November 22, Toronto, Canada
The NHLPA Goals & Dreams “10 countries in 10 days” tour wrapped up on Sunday with another equipment donation and a celebration event at the Hockey Hall of Fame
Day Ten – Tour makes final stop in Toronto, Canada…
On Sunday, Matt, Rob, and I (and Jonathan) had a lovely 4:00am wake-up call to catch a 6:30 flight home. Due to the fact that our travel schedule was insane, the early wake-up time didn’t faze us at all. (We are all asking for sleep for Christmas!) Anyway, we arrived safely in Toronto and were thrilled to finally see our wives and children. After traveling the world and seeing so many children, it really makes you miss your own kids and appreciate them even more than we already did.
While we spent the day getting caught up with our families, a large contingent of the NHLPA staff was preparing for the culminating celebration of the tour and the 10th anniversary of G & D at the Hockey Hall of Fame. The NHLPA staff takes pride in everything we do and it showed in the way the event was run. When the guests arrived at the Hall, they were treated to videos of children playing hockey, all thanks to equipment donations from the players. Hundreds of photos of smiling, happy children were scattered throughout the Hall. Every smile is a success story. Every kid should be able to play hockey and we are thrilled to be involved with a program that has helped so many kids in such a big way.
NHLPA staff, corporate sponsors, friends and family, and of course NHLPA Members were in attendance for the grand finale event. In addition, we were thrilled to have four players from the Bosnian program travel back to Toronto to join us at the celebration. Former NHLer and current broadcaster with CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, Kevin Weekes served as master of ceremonies for the event and he did a stellar job. Weekes, who is from Toronto, has been heavily involved in charity work and has worked in conjunction with the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund on several occasions. When I thanked him for taking the time to help us out, he quickly said, “No, thank you, this is an honour and I will always be there for Goals & Dreams and future hockey players...call me anytime.” What a class act.
There were a few heartfelt speeches and some wonderful videos shown that highlighted the tour and the purpose of the trip. Tim Thompson of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada created the closing video that played to Louis Armstrong’s “It’s A Wonderful World”; it was spectacular.
It’s Monday now. I can’t describe how proud I am to have reached our goal of helping kids for 10 years and embarking on this amazing tour to help celebrate it all. I’m even more proud of the staff, players and particularly our traveling crew of Matt, P.J., Rob, Tim and Keith. The crew was always up-beat, and always focused on the tour and how we can exceed expectations in each location. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you create a good team and a good plan.
We really appreciate the interest that many of you have shown in following us on our G & D journey over the past 10 days. I hope everyone has enjoyed the blog updates, videos and pictures, and I hope all of you tune in to the documentary that CBC is producing, which will air on December 19th. This TV show will elevate the players’ program and generosity to an even higher level, and the partnership with CBC will focus on the great side of hockey that isn’t always shown. In addition, P.J. Stock is incredibly entertaining, so it will be worth your while to check in to see his interviews with Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, Arturs Irbe and many others.
The NHLPA staff and NHLPA members are committed to improving the lives of children through NHLPA Goals & Dreams. If you know of any grassroots hockey programs that could use help, please check out the link on nhlpa.com and apply for funding. Every child should have the chance to play the great sport of hockey.
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement,
Devin (on behalf of the entire G & D team)
NHLPA Goals & Dreams in Canada
Canada has seen more NHLPA Goals & Dreams donations than any other country in the world. Over half of the NHLPA membership consists of Canadian-born NHL players. Donations by the players’ program have reached far beyond $7 million, impacting every province and territory. Canadian children have received close to 7,000 sets of new hockey equipment thanks to the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund.
Below are several of the donations made by the NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund over the past two years. NHL players who have endorsed the donations are also listed below:
- Ehrlo Outdoor Hockey League (Regina, Saskatchewan) – 50 sets of equipment – Mike Sillinger
- Vincent Lecavalier Foundation (Rimouski, Quebec) – 50 sets of equipment – Vincent Lecavalier
- Bonvie/MacDonald Rinks to Links (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) – 30 sets of equipment – Craig MacDonald
- Young Guns of Alberta Golf Foundation – 30 sets of equipment – Jim Vandermeer and Trent Hunter
- KidSport Alberta – 40 sets of equipment – Curtis McElhinney
- Lac La Biche – 50 sets of equipment – Rene Bourque
- Dan Cleary Hockey Program (St. John’s, Newfoundland) – 20 sets of equipment – Dan Cleary
- Chris Pronger Hockey Program (Dryden, Ontario) – 50 sets of equipment – Chris Pronger
- KidSport Strasbourg (Strasbourg, Saskatchewan) – 50 sets of equipment – Nick Schultz
- Nairn Centre Hockey Program (Nairn Centre, Ontario) – 25 sets of equipment – Kirk Maltby
- Ted Dore Fair Play Hockey League (Valley East, Ontario) – 50 sets of equipment – Andrew Brunette
- Greater London Hockey Association – 50 sets of equipment – Brandon Prust
- Project North (Nunavut and Nunivak) – 50 sets of equipment – Chris Phillips
- Skates for Kids (Welland, Ontario) – 50 pairs of skates and helmets – Brad Boyes
- Kawartha Komets (Peterborough, Ontario) – 15 sets of equipment – Mike Fisher
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NHLPA Goals & Dreams facts:
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