Members of the Lethbridge Hurricanes, the southern Alberta city’s premiere sports team, traded their skates for aprons to help support the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen.
It’s the fuel they needed to feed their souls. The junior hockey team is helping the vulnerable and taking some off-ice life lessons.
Kooper Gizowski is a forward typically found on the left wing, but on Tuesday evening, he was found supporting his community.
“It’s honestly a big step for us and I think it gives us a better point of view of life, too,” said Gizowski.
The soup kitchen relies heavily on volunteers and appearances from the Lethbridge Hurricanes help motivate others to follow suit.
“If it’s a group that’s known in the city, especially with this team, they’re out and about a lot, they see them here, I think it shows them to say ‘Hey, I can do that as well’,” said Bill Ginther, executive director of the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen.
This was the third and final visit from the Canes this year, though the partnership between these two organizations goes way back.
“I think a local team like that needs to be involved in the community,” said Ginther. “For us, it’s ideal. Our guests love it when people come, especially wearing the uniform, the sweater. It makes them feel as though they’re important and that the players are taking time out of their busy schedules and coming to serve them.”
While the impact is evident for those who need the services of the soup kitchen. There are also major impacts on the players.
“I think a lot of players maybe don’t have exposure, like a lot of people in the general public don’t. So, I think this really opens their eyes and it makes them aware there are needs beyond just being out on the ice,” said Ginther.
The players agree, noting life is not always on the power play and sometimes people are down on their luck.
Will Sharpe is a defenceman for the Hurricanes and he says this volunteer work shows him a different side of the community than he is used to.
“I think it’s good for us to have that opportunity to see how fortunate we are to be in the situation that we are in,” said Sharpe.
This perspective can have long-term impacts on the players and community alike.
“When you’re just driving down the road and you see a guy sitting there, asking for money, it doesn’t hurt to give him a couple extra bucks,” said Gizowski. “Obviously it’s money to us, but it helps them way more in the long run.”
Sharpe says he hopes their appearance can be the assist the soup kitchen needs to score their goals.
“I think it’s a great thing to do, it goes a long way in helping these people out. Honestly, it’s huge. It’s huge for our community. What they do here is awesome.”