Hockey Helps the Homeless raises more than $30,000 for Kingston Youth Shelter
Queen’s Hockey Helps the Homeless raised more than $30,000 for the Kingston Youth Shelter at its annual tournament on Feb. 28.
Andrew Worling (ArtSci ’21), co-chair of Queen’s Hockey Helps the Homeless, called the event a success in an interview with The Journal.
“It has been our smoothest-run tournament so far, with eight teams, 110 participants, 20 volunteers and eight professionally-certified referees,” he said.
The organization exceeded their expected goal by beating $25,000, the amount raised last year. According to Jake Robertson (ArtSci ’21), another co-chair, the funds are generated through participant fees.
Each player is asked to pay $300 for the tournament. $250 is put toward the fundraising goal, and the remaining $50 is used to cover player expenses like custom jerseys and ice time, Robertson said.
The Kingston Youth Shelter uses proceeds from the event to provide ongoing support and expansions for existing programs to help homeless youth in the community, Robertson added.
According to co-chair Hannah Forestell (ArtSci ’21), advocates from the shelter come out to the tournament and speak with the players, which provides an emotional insight into how the funds are appreciated.
“I see a lot of support coming in, and it’s really just great to see the improvement as the years go on,” Forestell said.
According to Robertson, there are two kinds of support provided by the shelter for these youth.
“The first is crisis care, which is short-term care in an emergency situation the youth might find themselves in that leads to them becoming homeless,” Robertson said. “The second, is long-term care where they are offered support and education on lifelong skills such as budgeting.”
“That’s what makes the youth shelter so special,” he said. According to Worling, Hockey Helps the Homeless now holds three events every year, including a winter tournament, a ball hockey tournament, and a video game tournament, each aiming to fundraise for a charity.
“Our executive team is also planning a trip to the Kingston Youth Shelter to witness the direct impact of the funds we have raised,” Worling said.
