Archive

Local Lions plan road hockey fundraiser for dog guides program

May 13, 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

The Orangeville Lions Club, in partnership with 101.5 myFM, will be hosting a Road Hockey Fundraiser this summer, with proceeds to benefit the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides program.

Slated to take place on July 6 at the Lions Sports Park, located at 120 Diane Drive, the event will be used to boost the profile of the local facility, which Orangeville Lion member Paul Snell explains, underwent extensive renovations prior to its grand reopening last year.

“We definitely want to utilize that park a little more and make people more aware of the fact they have this wonderful facility” in their backyard, Mr. Snell said. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity to bring the community together and show off the new site.”

The club has invested more than $120,000 in the park over the past couple of years, with the NHL rink-size pad costing around $80,000 itself. 

The Orangeville Road Hockey Fundraiser is open to anyone 10 years of age and older. One of the organizers, Tommy West, noted there will be three separate divisions – youth (ages 10 to 13), junior (14 to 18) and adult (19+), with each registered team guaranteed at least four games over the course of the day.

Mr. West said he hopes to be able to sign up eight teams per division. Registering a youth team will cost $100, a junior team $150 and an adult team $200. All the money raised through team registration will go directly to the Orangeville Lions Club to be redistributed in various ways throughout the community.

Participants are encouraged to fill out pledge forms, with any money raised through those donations going directly to the Lions Foundation of Canada Guide Dogs.

“When we first brought this idea forward, the idea was to pinpoint one project for the Lions Club,” said Wayne White, a local Lions Club member. “Right now, there’s a real demand for Guide Dogs. We used to have a walk in the community here for years supporting the foundation, but we no longer have that. So, we thought this was an ideal opportunity for us to get back involved and support the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides.”

Early registration has been somewhat successful thus far, with Mr. West stating the adult division was “almost completely filled”. It’s the youth and junior divisions that still need some work. 

On top of games, which will run 20 minutes and will be three-on-three, with a goalie, Dan Roach stated the Orangeville Lions Club will have its food booth on site serving fries and hot dogs to the community. There will also be representatives from, and beneficiaries of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides initiative throughout the day. 

“I think the one key thing we’re trying to press home here is that this is supposed to be a fun day. It is, predominantly, a fundraiser, and there will be lots of fun things going on over the course of the day,” Mr. West said. “While we’re installing a soft six-person per team limit, nobody will be turned away. That’s one of the things we’re trying to promote, is that this park is open to everyone all year round and that anyone who wants to come out and play will have an opportunity to do so.”

Presented by Parker Mitsubishi, the Orangeville Road Hockey Fundraiser will take place on July 6 at the Lions Sports Pad in Orangeville. The event will start at 8:30 a.m. and will run to 7 p.m. To register, visit orangevilletoday.ca.

Readers Comments (0)