The second annual Hockey Night in Muskoka raised more than $100,000 to support local health care across the region on Aug. 13.
Brenda Rhodes, Deputy Mayor of Bracebridge and board member for Hockey Night Muskoka, said the event was a fundraiser that gave NHL players an opportunity to donate their time, give back to the community and help raise funds.
The event featured current and former NHL players such as Sam Bennett, Taylor Hall, Bo Horvat and Wendel Clark, among others.
The night began with a Youth Ball Hockey Experience featuring fun and interactive activities, skill development and more for participants of all ages, while encouraging youth to give back to their community by raising $200 for the event’s charities of choice.
The top 10 youth fundraisers earned the opportunity to take part in an element of the NHL Charity Hockey Game, giving them a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Rhodes said this year the funds raised will go toward supporting the South Muskoka Hospital Foundation, the Miles Hammond Foundation and the United Way of Simcoe Muskoka.
“We added the Miles Hammond Foundation this year,” she said, adding last year they supported just the hospital foundation and United Way.
Rhodes said the organizations were selected because each addresses a different need within the community.
“The hospital foundation, on your worst day, you know that the doctors have the equipment that they need. The hospital foundation does phenomenal work,” she said.
Rhodes said the United Way helps lift people out of poverty through programs such as its rent bank, which provides financial assistance to people who are behind rent or mortgage payments. She said the support gives people time to get back on their feet and maintain financial stability.
“The Miles Hammond Endowment Fund is a fund that helps children that have illnesses,” she said. “It goes to the Orillia hospital, because that’s where children in our community go first to get their support and the care that they need.”
