Laura Curtis Ferrera is a mother of two boys who grew up playing and loving hockey. She knows what the game does for Canadians: bringing communities together, providing kids with tremendous friendships and teaching kids some valuable life lessons of teamwork, respect and commitment.

Curtis Ferrera has also seen the challenges that come with the game, notably a decline in participation rates due to barriers that exist, culturally and financially.

“What I’m seeing in the game right now is there is intention to making the game more welcoming,” says Curtis Ferrera, global chief marketing officer for Scotiabank. “The outcome of that, I hope, is more diversity on a go-forward basis. We’re in a phase that if we don’t make the game more welcoming, we won’t see more diversity. The reverse is also true that if we all focus on the things we can do to make the game more inclusive, that diversity will be an outcome of that. It’s about making the game more welcoming to everyone.”

Curtis Ferrera has had the opportunity to combine her passion for the game of hockey with her professional career. Scotiabank – also known as Canada’s Hockey Bank – has been involved in supporting Canada’s game at all levels, from the grassroots game on outdoor rinks throughout the country right up to Canada’s national teams.

Scotiabank recently donated $350,000 to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund with the goal of making hockey more accessible to children and families who simply can’t afford the costs that come with playing the game.

“There are lots of sources of funding for people if they want to be able to play and they can’t afford to,” she says. “What I like about the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund is that it’s made it so easy for people to apply. Scotiabank really wants to be part of the solution of breaking down financial barriers, but it’s that relationship with Hockey Canada that made it so easier.”

This season, the Assist Fund provided more than 1,700 Canadian kids with funding towards registration fees, with almost 600 of those young players representing BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Colour) communities.

Curtis Ferrera had the opportunity to meet one of the families that benefitted from the program, Monique and Akeeliah Graham, and learned of the challenges that Monique has had to overcome to see her daughter play the game she now loves.

“Monique said she moved from Jamaica to Canada with Akeeliah and she made the point that she chose hockey for her daughter. This wasn’t something where multiple generations played hockey so you see your older sibling play so you want to play. Quite the contrary,” says Curtis Ferrera. “What Monique saw was a sport that didn’t have any young Black girls playing. It was a really conscious decision that Monique had that her daughter was going to be a young Black woman playing hockey.

“She had this notion of ‘We’re going to do this, and it isn’t going to be easy because we didn’t know anything about the game, didn’t know the rules, didn’t know how to access it.’ It’s not an easy sport to navigate as you move through the ranks.”

Curtis-Ferrera says she’s heard from many hockey parents that the Assist Fund has made it easy for parents, coaches and volunteers to help kids get on the ice as the information is consolidated on Hockey Canada’s website, a place many Canadians trust and visit regularly.

She’s proud of the commitment Scotiabank has made and looks forward to hearing more and more stories of children and families who can enjoy Canada’s game due to Scotiabank’s partnership with Hockey Canada.

“Scotiabank has invested $350,000 to help kids who want to play hockey be able to afford to play hockey. That money is no good if people don’t know about it and don’t know how to access it,” says Curtis Ferrera. “That’s why the relationship with Hockey Canada is so important, because people are used to coming to the website so it’s prominent there. If we all do a good job of amplifying its existence and making sure the coaches, managers and trainers know how to direct the parents to access it, I think over a period of time, people become more used to knowing where to go.”

For more information or to donate to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund, visit HockeyCanada.ca/AssistFund .

At Frontier Mosakahiken School in Moose Lake, Man., Jennelle Manko has lots of ideas for how she can grow her Hockey Canada Skills Academy program.

One way is by providing more activities options for students, and thanks to a grant from the Hockey Canada Foundation, her school now has access to new floorball equipment.

“I was really excited to have more options and more choices for the kids,” says Manko, who teaches Grade 3 and the Skills Academy program for Grade 9 to Grade 12. “We have weightlifting as an option, and then we have [floorball] now as an option, and we also had the rink and going outside to do outdoor hockey.”

Skills Academy programs were selected by the Hockey Canada Foundation to receive the grant, with the goal of eliminating barriers to play and maximizing off-ice skill development.

“We know that hockey is not always accessible to everyone,” says Hockey Canada Foundation philanthropy manager Alexandra Wise. “By providing this grant that can be used in schools where we know the kids are, they’ll have the chance to get experience playing hockey in a safe way and in an accessible way.”

For Manko, her school is in a small community home to the Mosakahiken Cree Nation. Since receiving the grant, she has noticed there has been an increased excitement about hockey in her school community.

“I think I’m going to have a lot more interest [in the Skills Academy program] and a lot more students wanting to be at school,” she says.

Timothy Biggins works in student services at Chief Napew Memorial School, located on Big Island Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. When he found out his school was selected for the Hockey Canada Foundation grant, he was “ecstatic.”

“It provided a really good opportunity for the students for dryland training, especially,” he says. “We are able to utilize our multipurpose court that’s outside of the building on a regular basis.”

Currently, the Skills Academy program is only open to U9 players at Chief Napew Memorial School. However, Biggins hopes this grant will be a stepping-stone to gathering more interest and participants in the program.

“On a daily basis I have other kids in different grades asking me to be involved. So, I think it is a launching point,” he says. “With this grant and that support that was given and the accessibility to that equipment, we are able to share it with other groups, not just the U9s, and it is developing more of a keen interest in the sport.”

Biggins’ goal of fostering a sense of community through hockey is not limited to the walls of his school. He hopes that the entire community will embrace the sport and that the community will have a team of its own one day. One of the first steps in that goal is operating and growing the Hockey Canada Skills Academy.

After seeing his three sons grow up playing hockey, he wants to help get as many kids as he can get involved to also feel supported by the hockey community once the entry barriers are eliminated.

“I’ve just noticed that whenever we have athletes that come from the community and are involved in our local hockey community, that those students walk in the school with a little more sense of confidence, and I love it. I love seeing it,” he says. “I want it to go throughout all the grades so that when they are finished their academics in the [kindergarten to Grade 12] system that they feel confidence and they can move forward.”

I took my son Miko to his first hockey game when he was just four days old. I registered him for hockey when he was three years old, and his little sister Kaylee followed suit soon after.

Hockey is a family activity for us – it is something we do together.

As a single father who is disabled, and being a low-income family, having both my kids in hockey has always been a priority, but wouldn’t have been possible without the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund.

We have a unique dynamic to our family unit and hockey is just one activity that we all love. Miko, who is 13, is a gifted young kid with autism. I have homeschooled him since kindergarten as public school was not a good fit for him with his anxiety.

Hockey allows him to do something with kids his own age. Hockey is a comfortable space for him to relate to his peers. Miko likes being part of the team, but he really enjoys working on individual skills and getting better than he was the week before or the year before.

For eight-year-old Kaylee, who is autistic and very outgoing, hockey allows her to help other people and be around others. For her, hockey is all about the team. She likes being a part of the group and that’s probably why she chose to play defence. She always checks in on her goalie and it’s in her nature to help others.

Neither of my kids play competitive hockey, but that isn’t the point. They play the game because they enjoy it and have fun when they are on the ice.

For example, Kaylee’s team didn’t win one game this year, but she still gets excited to play. She isn’t bothered by the fact that they haven’t won, but they played as a team.

Enrolling and keeping them in hockey has nothing to do with reaching the professional leagues. They just want to continue to play the game and have fun. Miko wants to be an astronaut or a physicist, and Kaylee wants to be a pilot. As they figure out who they want to be, I know hockey will be a part of their lives as they get older.

It was always a priority for me to put them in hockey, but without help from the Assist Fund, we would have had to cut something else from our budget that is as equally as important.

I learned about the Assist Fund through an email from our local hockey association, but I also saw posts on the Hockey Canada Facebook page. It was an easy choice to apply for both Miko and Kaylee and we are so appreciative of the support we have received. It really helps having that funding, because it is one less thing for me to stress about – I don’t have to think about a way to find that money to keep them in hockey. It really gives me peace of mind.

Having accessibility to the Assist Fund for all families across Canada is so important for kids that come from less fortunate families, as they are able to enjoy normal activities that many kids in Canada can access.

Miko and Kaylee are learning so much from being in hockey – it shows them they can persevere, learn new skills and achieve their goals. It gives them confidence in their own skills and shows them they have the ability to overcome things in life.

Hockey has given them and our family a sense of community. When they win a tournament, no one cares what level it was, but that experience and feeling will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

BEIJING, China – Hockey fans across the world can own a piece of Hockey Canada history and bid on game-worn jerseys from Canada’s women’s and men’s Olympic hockey teams.

Bidding will remain open until Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT at HockeyCanada.ca/Auction.

Proceeds from the online auction benefit the Hockey Canada Foundation and the Canadian Olympic Foundation and will be invested in programs to grow the game at the grassroots level in Canadian communities.

As Canada’s Women’s Olympic Team prepares for tonight’s gold medal game, fans can join the excitement of the Games and bid on game-worn jerseys from captain Marie-Philip Poulin, tournament scoring leader Sarah Nurse, first-time Olympian Sarah Fillier and the rest of Team Canada.

The online auction for Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team is also open, with game-worn jerseys available of captain Eric Staal, No. 1 NHL draft pick Owen Power, Kent Johnson and the other 22 members of the Canadian roster.

“All month, hockey fans from coast to coast to coast have been cheering on Canada’s men’s and women’s teams at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games as they proudly represent our country,” said Donna Iampieri, executive director of the Hockey Canada Foundation. “Now, they can own a piece of hockey history and support the development of grassroots hockey across Canada.

“Proceeds from the online auction will help establish a legacy for our Olympic hockey teams that goes well beyond the Games and inspires the next generation of hockey players to chase their Olympic dreams.”

Through the auction, hockey fans have already raised over $35,000 for grassroots hockey.

For more information on the Hockey Canada Foundation, please visit HockeyCanada.ca/Foundation.

CALGARY, Alta. – The Hockey Canada Foundation (HCF) has welcomed a new member to its board of directors with the appointment of Susan Anderson (Calgary, Alta.).

Currently the president and chief executive officer of Cannonball Capital Inc., Anderson joins a board that is committed to promoting the Foundation’s mission to preserve, nurture and strengthen the bond between Canadians and hockey.

“We are thrilled to welcome Susan to the Hockey Canada Foundation Board of Directors and are looking forward to working with her to help remove barriers of access to the game of hockey,” said David Andrews, chair of the HCF Board of Directors. “Susan’s experience will be a tremendous asset to the board, and we know her entrepreneurial spirit will continue to have a great impact on our game from coast to coast to coast.”

In addition to her role with Cannonball Capital Inc., Anderson currently serves as the chair of the board at Digital Commerce Bank, a company she co-founded in 2008. She also co-founded DirectCash Payments in 1997, a publicly traded financial services company that grew to be the second-largest ATM company in the world with revenue over $400 million, and is a co-founder of Bitvo, a leading crypto currency exchange in Canada.

“I am extremely excited to join the Hockey Canada Foundation Board of Directors and help grow the game for children and youth in communities across the country,” said Anderson. “Every child deserves the chance to participate in sport, and I know that our board is committed to making sure more kids will have the opportunity to play hockey for years to come.

“As I have had the privilege of witnessing with my children, hockey builds lifelong skills such as self-confidence, teamwork and goal-setting. The game also teaches kids how to work and have fun, which are critical in life outside of hockey.”

The founder of Lace ‘Em Up, Anderson provided a major assist last September when she pledged $1 million to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund through the Cannonball Sport & Education Foundation.

Since its launch in 2020, the HCF Assist Fund has provided minor hockey registration support for thousands of young Canadians who faced financial barriers to return to the ice.

The Hockey Canada Foundation Board of Directors also includes Andrews, Jeff Macoun (vice-chair), Cassie Campbell-Pascall (secretary), Allan Matthews (treasurer) and directors Ravina Bains, Peter Brauti, Grant Fagerheim, Sean Finn, Doug Goss, Barry Lorenzetti, and Ashif Mawji. In addition, the Canadian Hockey Foundation U.S. board includes Bill Ackerman (chair), Mike Humes (vice-chair), Adam Graves (secretary), Paul Delparte (treasurer) and director Greg Abel.

For more information on the Hockey Canada Foundation, please visit HockeyCanada.ca/Foundation.

Daryl K. (Doc) Seaman lived and breathed hockey and wanted to help young Canadians continue to access and enjoy the game he loved.

“Doc was a friend of mine and I worked with him for many years. When Doc passed away [in 2009], he was very generous with his legacy,” says Don Thurston, chair of the Daryl K. Seaman Canadian Hockey Fund at the Calgary Foundation.

Seaman was an original owner of the Calgary Flames and was instrumental in bringing the National Hockey League team to Alberta in 1980. He continued to share his passion of sport with amateur athletes, and hockey players in particular.

He gifted more than $100 million to the Calgary Foundation, which was established in the mid-1950s by a group of community-minded citizens to meet the variety of social, cultural, educational, health, environmental and community needs in Calgary and the surrounding area.

Seaman also isolated a $10 million fund with the Calgary Foundation – the Doc Seaman Amateur Sports Grants – that specifically goes towards supporting amateur sporting activities across Canada, with an inclination to hockey.

“Sporting activities are a catalyst for friendship, skills training and learning about others,” says Thurston. “Sports are a good way to help youth and disadvantaged people. That was important to Doc.”

Earlier this year, Thurston and the Daryl K. Seaman Canadian Hockey Fund at the Calgary Foundation were proud to commit a $75,000 grant to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund.

The Assist Fund helps remove barriers to playing hockey for young Canadians by providing registration fee support to those families who have been challenged financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was a perfect match,” says Thurston. “It is for youth and goes towards those families who wouldn’t otherwise be able to play hockey because of fees. We know Hockey Canada well and knew that Doc was a big supporter.”

The Seaman Grants support all aspects of amateur hockey across Canada; initiatives that encourage young people to learn about, enjoy and play amateur sports of all kinds, increase equal access and promote participation in community-based amateur sports.

“It clearly was the right fit for us to support the Assist Fund. It was a perfect value match,” says Thurston. “The fact that it was hockey was great, but it also benefits everyone across Canada, and it helps so many that need support. It helps youth in the game, learn new skills, how to play, how to get along with others and have fun with their friends.”

The Calgary Foundation facilitates a collaborative approach to philanthropy by making connections between donors and community organizations. Last year, it granted $66.9 million to 1,105 charitable organizations.

The Seaman Amateur Sports Grants have awarded around up to $500,000 every year for the past 10 years across Canada. It is the lone community grant at the Calgary Foundation that supports various sporting programs from Prince Edward Island to Yukon.

“It is a grassroots fund that helps youth in sports and those who are disadvantaged – financially, culturally or physically – we want to support those initiatives through the Doc Seaman grant,” says Thurston.

The Assist Fund received unanimous support by the committee at the Calgary Foundation, knowing how much the sport meant to Seaman.

“The Assist Fund fits exactly what we want to support – youth in grassroots sporting activities,” says Thurston. “It means everything to be a part of this. It matches all our value components. Hockey is a vital part of our country and Doc knew that. It means a lot and I am delighted we are a part of the Assist Fund.”

To donate to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund, CLICK HERE.

As a mother, I want to make my kids happy. Hockey makes them happy, and they have grown so much on and off the ice.

Without the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund, hockey wouldn’t be a possibility for two of my children and I am so grateful for the support.

My 16-year-old son Quavis and my 14-year-old daughter Patricia have received the funding for their registrations this season. We previously used the Lace ‘Em Up Foundation, but learned they partnered with the Assist Fund, so I filled out the forms and we received the funding.

Both play goalie and both are ambitious in their dreams – hockey and otherwise.

Quavis wants to be known for playing hockey. He has struggled with his self-confidence, like any other goalie, but he takes every win and loss as a learning lesson. He hopes to continue to play hockey once his U18 season is over, but he will always love the game. If he can’t continue with hockey, he wants to be a veterinarian.

Patricia’s dream, ever since she started playing goal, was to play for Team Canada. She idolizes Shannon Szabados, a two-time Olympic gold medallist. She is still figuring out who she wants to be, but playing hockey at a high level is her dream.

My kids love hockey and playing with their friends, and I want them to be active and to stay on the straight path.

As a single mother, I work hard to keep them in the sport they love and having access to the Assist Fund allows me to do just that. With how expensive hockey is, it is really a godsend to me because I wouldn’t be able to afford to put either of them in hockey.

Getting this assist means a lot to us. Both Quavis and Patricia understand what it means for them to receive this funding so they can continue to play hockey. They are always talking about hockey – what happened last season, when the new season is coming up and how the next season is going to go. They love it.

When I was growing up in Onion Lake, Sask., hockey was a big thing. When I had my older kids, they weren’t interested in hockey, but were into other sports. When I had my younger kids and moved back to Maskwacis, Alta., a friend suggested I sign up my son Bradley for hockey. Quavis and Patricia quickly followed in his footsteps.

They love making friends, travelling to new places and seeing new people through hockey, and they are gaining skills on and off the ice. Through the game, they are learning how to be approachable and friendly, listen to their coaches and build their self-confidence.

The Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund helps all hard-working parents so we can keep them in hockey instead of telling them we can’t afford it. It helps us financially, of course, but it also helps us watch our kids grow and develop into the people they are.

Thank you to the Hockey Canada Foundation, partners and those who have donated to the Assist Fund. To be able to share our story and our experience – we are so grateful. It is such a great resource for many to keep kids in hockey.

Hockey and health care bring people together in communities across Canada.

For 11 days, the hockey world comes together to celebrate the game’s brightest under-20 stars at the IIHF World Junior Championship. This year, after a one-year absence, fans will get to experience it live in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.

Part of that experience is not only watching great talent, but also supporting the communities through hospitality and fundraising efforts.

Last year, more than $38 million was raised in 50/50 draws at the World Juniors. This year, the hope is to generate more funds for grassroots hockey and local organizations.

The first draw in Alberta, running from Dec. 17-23, will see funds go towards the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit (CAMH) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, which provides both urgent in-patient care and follow-up treatment for children and youth aged five to 18 years old.

“For us, we see the relationship between physical activity and health,” says Karina Dixon, executive director of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation (RAHF). “We wanted to partner with an organization like Hockey Canada, who has a big commitment to supporting physical activity, child, and adult mental health. We saw that linkage and we thought it was a great opportunity for us to start a partnership.”

Dixon and the RAHF reached out to Riley Wiwchar, executive director of the 2022 IIHF World Juniors Championship last spring and the planning commenced on this partnership.

“They are such a key hospital in Edmonton and the surrounding areas. A lot of people go through that hospital,” says Wiwchar. “They’ve just had such a nice local connection in terms of where their funding goes. We were looking at trying to expand the reach of where our funds go, outside of hockey. It just seemed like a good fit.”

The CAMH unit at the Royal Alexandra Hospital provides compassionate acute care services to patients in central and northern Alberta, stretching into the Northwest Territories as well. The staff provide trauma-informed, family-centred care for children and youth who require emergency care, crisis stabilization, assessment, and short- and long-term treatment.

“We know that mental health affects everyone,” says Dixon. “Kids just need that extra support, and there are so many needs within that program and within that unit that these dollars will have a such a significant impact.”

Over 400 families access the CAMH unit each year and that number is growing. Mental health conditions have increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the unit is need of support. The funds raised through the 50/50 draw will go toward improving the program and items the teens and kids can use while at the facility.

“It will go towards fulfilling what they do in their programs and making sure there are no shortages in how they help the kids that need it most,” says Dixon. “We are proud to partner with Hockey Canada through this 50/50 and we are really grateful for all the people who end up purchasing tickets and supporting this program at the Royal Alex.”

There will be nine different 50/50 draws over the course of the tournament, which opens on Boxing Day. All proceeds from the draws will stay in the provinces where tickets are bought, supporting local communities.

“This is just another great opportunity for us to give back,” says Wiwchar. “We encourage people to get their tickets online, as all proceeds go back into the community.”

Playing hockey allows my son Wyatt to have a sense of normalcy when things aren’t always normal in our life.

Two-and-a-half years ago, our life got more difficult. My wife, Erin, was diagnosed with cancer. She was in remission, but the cancer came back. Moving to a single-income family of five made it harder to get our kids into their preferred extracurricular activities.

The Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund has allowed Wyatt to continue to play the game he loves without us worrying about registration fees. We found out about the Fund through our local hockey association registrar in Deep River, Ont., and qualifying for the funding was such a relief for our family.

When Erin got sick, we had to re-evaluate some life decisions. It was important to us as parents to try and make life as normal as possible for our three kids – now aged 16, 12 and eight years old.

Being at the arena and playing hockey allows Wyatt to be in a place where no problems exist and allows him to focus on something outside of home and school in a healthy way.

Wyatt was always an active kid growing up, but didn’t really show much interest in hockey until he was six years old. He asked to play at the end of the season, and I thought it was a passing fancy and told him to remind me at the end of summer to sign him up the next year. I honestly didn’t think he would. I was wrong and he reminded me about it daily about signing up.

At the time, Wyatt hadn’t skated much, but he figured it out and he hasn’t looked back.

Wyatt plays for the U13 Deep River Knights and hockey has become a part of who he is. The game is fun for him, and he tries to better himself every chance he gets. He gets to spend time with his friends and hockey has been a great way for Wyatt to break out of his shell. He was a shy kid, but hockey has become a big part of him.

At 12 years old, he knows his mom is sick and doesn’t know all the details, but he knows what the Assist Fund has done for him and us as a family.

Having access to the Assist Fund is hugely important to our family and other Canadian families. It is one of those reasons why no kid is left behind – finances should not be a barrier to playing hockey. Playing the game builds so many skills in our kids – on and off the ice – and Wyatt has excelled because of hockey.

As much as it is about the game, it is also about the community and friendships that have been created that span beyond hockey. Hockey is a part of our community in Deep River and the teams, players, coaches and parents have become our extended family off the ice.

Our little hockey community rallied around our family, and we are so grateful for having those people when we needed them most.

We are a very active family – our oldest daughter figure skates and Wyatt plays hockey throughout the week, along with power skating on the weekends. We are at the arena six days a week. Our youngest son loves watching games but would rather ski.

Hockey is a lot of early mornings and long nights, but it is a part of our life. Without the sport, Wyatt would be lost. And without the Assist Fund, we would have had to make even more difficult decisions. We are so grateful Wyatt and other kids like him across Canada have access to funding to help support their dreams.

Wyatt is so passionate about hockey that he wants to play in the National Hockey League and for Team Canada, but if he can’t play at the highest level, he wants to be a referee or coach.

Do you want to help kids like Wyatt play the game they love? Visit HockeyCanada.ca/AssistFund to donate.

Ben Gallacher’s hockey career included a checklist of accomplishments that he dreamed of as a young kid growing up in Calgary.

Gallacher wore the Team Canada jersey twice, playing in two World Junior A Challenges in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, the left-handed defenceman, who played his minor hockey with the Glenlake Minor Hockey Association in southwest Calgary, was selected in the fourth round, 93rd overall, by the Florida Panthers in the NHL Entry Draft.

“Being drafted is a day I’ll never ever forget. It was surreal,” says Gallacher. “It was unbelievable in the truest sense of the word, something that you’ve been trying to cultivate since you were five years old and, to hear your name called and put on the jersey and meet everyone and realize that your dream is starting to become more of a goal and aspiration and within reach, that was great.

“The moments leading up to that … I got to wear the Team Canada jersey twice and those moments were some of my proudest as a hockey player. Putting on the jersey and the chance to represent something that is much greater than yourself, represents all of the people who have put that jersey on before you and all of those who put it on after you, you’re always going to be connected to.”

Gallacher looks back and realizes he was fortunate, not only to play the game at such a high level but to play it at all. As a Glenlake Hawk, Gallacher was coached by Gerry Pinder, who played for Canada’s National Men’s Team at the 1968 Olympics and spent time with the Chicago Blackhawks and California Golden Seals in the NHL, and Brian Skrudland, who is best known for his time with the Montreal Canadiens but who also played with the Panthers, Flames, Rangers and Stars as part of his 881 games in the world’s best league.

Gallacher now gives back to the game as he wants more kids to get the opportunities he did. He is part of the Cannonball Sport & Education Fund, a family organization that also includes his brother Liam and mother Susan Anderson.

Earlier this year, Cannonball announced it would donate $1 million to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund over five years to help the Assist Fund provide hockey registration fee support for young Canadians who may not have been able to return to the ice due to financial constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We feel like every young boy and girl should have the opportunity to put on skates and see if they like it, knowing that most will,” Gallacher says. “We feel like that opportunity is really important for that to be equitable. That’s where we see the beautiful side of the Hockey Canada Foundation trying to help hockey become more of an equitable game.”

He adds that sport has always been important to his family, with his mom playing competitive tennis and now pickleball, his brother turning heads as a volleyball player and golfer and, of course, Ben himself on the ice.

“We just saw the value of sport, comradery, having teammates, working on a collective goal. Trying to create further youth participation in Canada was really important for us,” says Gallacher.

That’s the sport side of Cannonball – but the organization does so much more. Anderson, a lawyer by trade, grew up in a household where both of her parents were teachers, which instilled in her the importance of education. She has become a well-known entrepreneur and philanthropist in Calgary and, in 2019, made a transformational donation to the Calgary Public Library Foundation to support early childhood literacy.

It was one of the largest gifts in the CPL Foundation’s history and, in recognition of the support, the CPL named the children’s area at the Central Library the Jocelyn Louise Anderson Children’s Library in honour of Anderson’s mother.

“Our mission is to help financially disadvantaged kids play sport and get an education,” she says. “Education is important to me, as both my parents were teachers and I believe education is the most important factor in helping someone lift themselves out of poverty, particularly girls. And this is supported by data as well.”

“The first years of a child’s life as so crucial,” says Anderson. “I believe in the value of childhood education and wanted to participate in making this available to Calgary’s children to give them a strong start toward a successful future.���

While much of Cannonball’s education work is focused on Calgary, the foundation has touched the lives of Canadians from coast to coast to coast and the partnership with the Assist Fund will help youth throughout the country hit the ice and enjoy Canada’s game.

To donate to the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund, CLICK HERE.