by GREG VANDERMEULEN
A pair of Steinbach businesses will host a charity hockey game to raise funds for a local charity.
Premier Portable and The LumberZone will see the first game of this kind hosted in Steinbach on May 29.
In a March email, Joel Hartung of The LumberZone said they hope to make it an annual event.
Local businesses have stepped up to sponsor the event with nearly 20 of them offering support, and fans are welcome to come out and see some of the best hockey players the region has produced with birth dates ranging from 1980 to 2005.
Hartung said on game day coaches will draft their players NHL style.
He said the players love the draft and at past events would often share clips of their favourite plays or mistakes.
“It’s a memory maker for everyone,” he said. “After the success of organizing a game for a Western Canada organization I figured we could do something local, especially with the amazing new arena.”
Hartung admits he’d love to get out there himself but an arm injury suffered at another charity game in January means he’ll have to stay in the stands.
Admission will be free to the game, but fans will be encouraged to purchase silent auction tickets and be eligible for some valuable prizes. Funds raised will go to Safe Families Steinbach, a charity that assists families in need by providing temporary host families while allowing the parents to retain custody.
Hartung said Jamie Penner, another organizer and title sponsor, suggested them. After researching the organization, Hartung said he was happy with the choice.
“Steinbach is a great community to raise a family and Safe Families makes it even better by helping families in need,” he said. “The training and preparation they do and all their volunteers ready to come to the short term rescue of people going through stressful and anxious times with nowhere to turn.”
Hartung has hosted games like this in the past.
For the last two years he helped host games in Edmonton for a board he sits on for Supply Build Canada.
“We have raised $40,000 for Habitat for Humanity and $40,000 for Western Canadian Children’s Hospitals,” he said.
The fundraising goal for the Steinbach event is more modest, but Hartung said they are hoping to raise more than $20,000 after expenses.
Players who participate will receive a European style jersey covered with sponsors’ logos and matching pant shells and socks.
The video crew from the Steinbach Pistons will have full video replays and announcements during the game.
Game time is 6 p.m. at the Southeast Event Centre on May 29.
