HOCKEY HELPS KIDS LAUNCHES 3RD ANNUAL CHARITY CUP CHALLENGE WITH 2,400 JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS
Voting is open now through February 25 at HockeyHelpsKids.com
(Edmonton, AB) – With the help of 2,400 enthusiastic Junior High students at Rogers Place, Hockey Helps Kids launched the 3rd annual Charity Cup Challenge and voting period (January 31 – February 25). Hockey Helps Kids is a fun and innovative charity competition bringing together local schools, charities and the Edmonton Oilers to raise awareness and funds for a variety of local charities. This year’s five teams each created a video to showcase their charity which were unveiled at today’s launch at Rogers Place.
“The Charity Cup Challenge is my favourite part of the Hockey Helps Kids process because it’s when all of the students’ hard work truly pays off. They’ve been perfecting their videos and created awesome campaigns to support their charities and now we get to help make a positive impact in our community by voting,” said Hockey Helps Kids Co-Founder Chloe Katz.
For its third season, Hockey Helps Kids expanded to include five local schools and charities and teamed up with five Oilers players acting as Hockey Helps Kids team captains. The team with the most votes at the end of the Charity Cup Challenge will win $25,000 for their designated charity and the four runners-up will also receive $10,000 for their local charities.
Together, from January 31 through February 25, they will compete for the 3rd annual Hockey Helps Kids Charity Cup and ultimately help make a difference in our community with the following teams competing:
- Team Draisaitl – D.S. MacKenzie / Mental Health Foundation
- Team Maroon – Dr. Donald Massey / Edmonton Humane Society
- Team Lucic – Dan Knott / Free2BMe (The Steadward Centre)
- Team Nugent-Hopkins – Mary Butterworth / Dogs with Wings
- Team McDavid – Westmount Junior High / United Way of the Alberta Capital Region
Past Hockey Helps Kids Charity Cup winners include Team McDavid and Killarney School, who won $25,000 for the Zebra Child Protection Centre in 2015-16 and Team Nugent-Hopkins and Father Michael Troy School, who captured the 2nd annual Hockey Helps Kids Charity Cup last season with a record-high 89,808 votes, earning $25,000 for Sport Central.
Hockey Helps Kids, co-founded by Chloe and Harrison Katz, children of Edmonton Oilers Chairman Daryl Katz and his wife Renee, is funded by the Katz family and administered by the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation (EOCF), who helps connect the Katz children with five local Edmonton schools and five Oilers players to learn about community service.
Hockey Helps Kids has again provided junior high school students in Grades 7 to 9 the opportunity to learn about the importance of being active and positive members of their community. Hockey Helps Kids complements each schools’ leadership curriculum, encouraging students to grow alongside the program while raising awareness and funds for local charities and learning the importance of making your community a better place for others.
Hockey Helps Kids Team Captains Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon, Milan Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Connor McDavid worked alongside their teams and collaborated during classroom visits. Having players learn more about the charitable causes and social issues alongside the students created a more intimate and interactive learning environment. Each school’s team captain discussed fundraising ideas and supported their team’s objectives.