Applications for the 2004 NHL A.S.S.I.S.T.® Grant program are now available. The grant awards selected recipients grants of up to $10,000 each, for a total of $100,000 that will be given by the NHL to qualifying hockey programs. The NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. (The NHL Assists Skaters and Shooters Intent on Succeeding Together) grant program is designed to help youth hockey organizations worldwide defray the costs of equipment, ice
time and travel expenses.

Now in its eighth year, NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. has provided financial assistance to 89 youth hockey programs from around the globe, including programs in Canada, China, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Mongolia, Slovakia, Russia, Romania, South Africa and the United States.

To be eligible for an NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. grant, the applying youth hockey organization must be nationally registered and a member in good standing with a local governing hockey federation. Organizations must also be a not-for-profit entity holding a 501(c) tax-exempt status in the United States, or their native country's equivalent. Grants will be awarded on the basis of need and community service efforts with special consideration
given to organizations that are inclusive of both girls and boys, the economically disadvantaged and physically challenged. The NHL will determine grant recipients based on the information provided in its sole discretion. The deadline for applications is . The NHL will announce award recipients at the start of the 2004-05 NHL season.

For the English application, send an email to [email protected]. Applications also are posted on the official NHL Web site (www.nhl.com). NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. applications are available at the NHL offices in New York as well as through the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in Zurich, a founding partner of the NHL A.S.S.I.S.T. program.

Interested programs outside North America can request applications by contacting the IIHF at 411-289-8600. Applications are available in English and French upon request.