Hockey may be Canada's game, but it's also one of Canada's most expensive games.
In order to help financially strained youth involved in the game, the George Bell Hockey Association (GBHA) is expanding their Help A Kid Play Hockey fund. The organization is looking for 12 young players who have a passion for the game, but might not be able to afford equipment and league fees."The junction is a great community and it's a great bunch of kids we have playing for us," said Fred Mathewson, GBHA director of sponsorship and fundraising. "One of things we have done at George Bell is establish a great group of people and a family feel to the organization."The fund has been discreetly helping up to six skaters for the last three years, but this season organizers are taking it to another level. The fund has been quietly accumulating money and is now going public with its plans to sponsor a dozen players from all age groups who can demonstrate financial need.Just signing up to play costs about $400. After another $500 or so for new equipment, participating in Canada's game quickly becomes unrealistic for many families near George Bell Arena, located at 215 Ryding Ave."This is an economically and ethnically diverse neighbourhood, so there are a lot of kids that would like to play hockey, but can't afford it and there are a lot of newcomer kids who because of their ethnic background, their parent's aren't necessarily pushing them into hockey. We are making this fund available to families and kids who wouldn't otherwise be able to play."Applications to utilize the fund are confidential, but it's clear players and parents of the league support the initiative. The GBHA has raised funds through auctions and social gatherings, but even Mathewson was taken by surprise when he heard how much the individual players contribute to the fund."We actually had kids who have birthday parties and instead of asking for gifts from the kids they invited, they ask them to bring donations for Help A Kid to Play Hockey. That's happened on two occasions and they raised a couple hundred dollars," said Mathewson.Applications should be submitted by the end of August in order to get everything ready for the start of the season in September.For more information or to submit an application, call Mathewson at 416-219-2417.