Hockey teams from five different Edmonton schools have each partnered with a different Edmonton Oilers player and are now vying for the chance to win $25,000.
The money would go to a designated charity as part of the third annual Hockey Helps Kids Charity Cup Challenge, which was launched on Wednesday.
A launch event with participating Oilers players and about 2,400 junior high school students took place at Rogers Place.
The initiative is the brainchild of the children of Oilers owner Daryl Katz — Chloe and Harrison Katz — and it sees key teams partner with an Oiler to create a video showcasing the charity they wish to support.
The team that receives the most votes by Feb. 25 will win $25,000 to be donated to the charity they choose to support. The teams that don’t win will receive $10,000 for their charities.
“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,” Chloe Katz said in a Wednesday news release.
“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.”
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl is working with hockey players at D.S. MacKenzie Junior High School to raise money for the Mental Health Foundation, Patrick Maroon has partnered with the Dr. Donald Massey Elementary-Junior High School hockey team in support of the Edmonton Humane Society, Milan Lucic and Dan Knott School’s hockey team are supporting the Steadward Centre’s Free2BMe program, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and hockey players at Mary Butterworth School are raising money for Dogs With Wings and Oilers captain Connor McDavid has teamed up with hockey players at Westmount Junior High School in support of the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.
“It’s good to be part of something like this,” Maroon told Global News at Rogers Place.
“Giving back to the community, helping the community… going to the school, learning about the kids, being a part of something special… they did such a good job.”
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“I love it,” said Maaya Narayanan, a Grade 9 student on Team Draisaitl. “The program provides so many great opportunities for all kinds of students…AAnd it’s just an amazing way to spread awareness and help out and give back to our community.”
Hockey Helps Kids, which is run by the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation, is meant to “strengthen the relationship between the Oilers and the community,” according to the NHL team.
Click here to vote for one of the participating teams.
View photos of the Hockey Helps Kids launch event below:
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