With about a half dozen teams participating from the East Coast Hockey League to the National Hockey League, from Las Vegas, Nevada across the world to the Italian league, players have stepped up again for HP4K’s annual Give Moore for the Holidays program.

Give Moore originated in Worcester when Mike Moore decided that a few lucky, local kids could use a pick-me-up during the holiday season. From there the initiative grew into something that reached 13 different cities in 2010 and another seven in 2011. Thousands of kids have benefited since the inception of the program and so many more will have the opportunity to spend the holidays with their favorite local hockey heroes again in 2012.

Kids in South Dakota got to spend time with the Rapid City Rush, Erik Condra and the Ottawa Senators teamed with Sport Chek and a local hospital, the Scouts in Cincinnati were back at it with St. Joe’s Orphanage, and the Cardiff Devils gave “moore” to two different organizations. The guys out in Stockton, California were in the holiday spirit despite the warm weather, and all of the Bloomington Blaze were pumped to give gifts to the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington.

Thank you to all the players, teams, staff and organizations that were a part of this year’s Give Moore for the Holidays. We hope all of those involved were able to have as much fun as our members and really got a chance to appreciate what the holidays are truly about. We look forward to seeing you all again for Give Moore 2012!

See all of the Give Moore for the Holidays programs here!

After making his way across the Atlantic for a season in Norway, Jimmy Kilpatrick knew he wanted to keep his role in HP4K alive in any way possible. His team, the Stavanger Oilers, have visited over 60 schools and spoken to around 6000 students in the past six years on their after school program tour.

Teaming up with Norwegian comedian, Kristian, the Oilers’ boys talk to the kids about setting goals for their future, making the right things a priority in life, choices, and the consequences that may or may not come from those choices.

On this year’s agenda Jimmy and his team will visit seven schools, one a week until the end of the season. They’re calling this year’s program a project with an “international twist”. Usually Kristian and the local Norwegian players would speak to the kids but Jimmy wants to be able to add his experiences and what he’s learned along the way.

After the visit with the kids the team makes it possible for everyone to be bused out to the next day’s home game where they get to sit with the team’s fans known as the “Roughnecks”. These are the fans who are known throughout the European hockey world. The drums are constantly going, cheers and chants are in unison and perfected over years.

“The kids are given a team sweatshirt along with being able to sit with the Roughnecks. It’s a great experience and it’s a great influence that I hope we can continue to spread,” said Kilpatrick.

Over the last few years, HP4K and the Boys and Girls Clubs across the North America have been teaming up to ensure amazing experiences for kids in local hockey communities. During last year’s Give Moore for the Holidays challenge the players from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers donated a check from the players and management to the organization, and this year the Ottawa Senators paired with Sport Check to give some kids the opportunity to pick out their own Christmas gifts. Doug Krantz, Zane Kalemba, Jordy Trottier, Brodie Sheahan, and Mark Znutas of the Bloomington Blaze, chose the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington to receive their gifts from Give Moore this season.

The guys spoke with program director Laura Duvendack and came up with 20 kids that would benefit from their program. Leading up to the gift exchange players from the Blaze would visit the kids every Monday to help with homework, play board games, air hockey and to just spend a little extra time together. While the five guys were instrumental in the development of the program, the entire Bloomington Blaze were overly generous with their gift donations after spending so much quality time with the kids.

“It’s great to interact with the city’s youth and put hockey aside for the night,” said Sheahan of their Monday nights with the kids, “It’s refreshing to spend time with someone who really appreciates what you’re doing.”

“It’s rewarding for us to go in and hang out with the kids, help them with their homework, and play games. They’re all so excited and funny and they definitely keep me on my toes. I look forward to going back every Monday and I feel awesome when they ask if we’re coming back the next week,” Trottier adds.

The night the players passed out gifts to the 20 deserving kids was something everyone in attendance will not soon forget. Each child was so happy to be given a chance to open gifts from their favorite hockey players.

“It was a great experience seeing the kids react to opening their gifts. I can’t wait to keep doing more in this community the rest of this season,” Zane Kalemba said.

“Hanging out with the kids of the Boys and Girls Club is a valuable experience. Providing a positive example is so important, but on a selfish note, spending time with these kids reminds me of the simpler things in life that are often forgotten as an adult,” adds Znutas.

via Stockton Thunder

The groundwork for this year’s Give Moore for the Holidays event in Stockton was laid out last year when the Thunder first joined in for the Give Moore Challenge. A former Thunder player, Daryl Marcoux, ran the event last year and even while he is not a member of the Thunder this year he wanted to be involved with this great program.

With the help of Linda Vasquez and Jessica Fillo in the Thunder front office Marcoux and Jody Pederson were able to organize and match 25 teens from the Stockton Children’s Home with each player on the Thunder as well as head coach Matt Thomas, athletic therapist Kevin Anderson and equipment manager Brennan Cody.

Everyone bought a gift for their teen and met them at the rink one day after practice for lunch and the gift exchange, along with a tour of the Thunder dressing room. Santa was on hand to distribute the gifts as well. The following weekend 52 teens from the Stockton Children’s Home attended a game versus the Idaho Steelheads.

This year’s program was as much of a success as last year’s and the team and Children’s Home could not be happier with the outcome.

“We enjoy any chance to help out in the community and do what we can to give back, and this means even more at Christmas. A chance to give a gift to someone who might not otherwise get one is a great opportunity to spread some Christmas spirit and all the guys really enjoyed it,” said Pederson, “The highlight of the event may have been the tour of the dressing room, training room and weight room after the gift exchange, where an impromptu bench press competition sprung up among the teens. Some pretty impressive performances!”

Read what the Stockton Thunder organization had to say about their involvement in Give Moore for the Holidays here: The Season of Giving.

Chris Frank of the Cardiff Devils (EIHL) knows it’s not about how much money you can spend on a child, or whether you’re able to provide them with the most elaborate gifts, that counts. Being a professional hockey player puts you in the unique position to put a smile on a kid’s face who might otherwise be down during the holidays.

Chris wanted to allow as many people as possible to contribute to his Give Moore for the Holidays campaign this season. The team decided to work with a local church and their program called “Big Wrap” which involves local kids in social services, as well as an organization called Llamau that works with potentially homeless, at-risk youth and vulnerable women. Providing both of these organizations with the opportunity to be involved in Give Moore for the Holidays gave the Devils many more exciting holiday memories to offer to many more kids.

For the local church’s “Big Wrap” program they gave bears from a home game’s Teddy Bear Toss along with a Devil’s gift bag. The bag contained team programs, tickets to games, and board games for the kids. They also invited kids from the church to come skate with the Devils, have lunch with the players, as well as pass out a few extra gifts that they had been saving just for that occasion. The group of kids who got to participate in this day ranged from 7 to 17 years old.

When deciding the best way to help the Llamau organization a few guys from the team met with the Director of Fundraising and came up with the idea of a donation page. Players pumped up the site through Facebook, Twitter, and spread the word to everyone they spoke with during the holidays. The team office staff was able to back the initiative and spread the word through all of their media sites as well. After three weeks of promoting the guys raised over £1800 for Llamau.

“The team was also able to bring 20 representatives from Llamau out to their first hockey game which they all seemed to really enjoy,” said Chris.

You can see Chris’s personal donation page here.

Last year the Cub Scouts from Cincinnati, Ohio gathered toys and gifts for a local orphanage as part of HP4K’s Give Moore for the Holidays program. (Read last year’s story here.) The goal of the program is to involve as many people from the community as possible to spread holiday cheer, and contribute to some amazing holiday experiences for kids who are less fortunate.

This year’s initiative was no different and Scout Packs 445, 124, and 101 couldn’t wait to be a part of the giving again. Retired Cincinnati Cyclone, Scott Reynolds, who helped to spearhead last year’s gift drive, was highly involved with the organizing and giving of gifts this season to St. Joe’s Orphanage.

“HP4K was fortunate to coordinate with the Scouts again this year in a gift drive to benefit St Joseph’s Orphanage in Cincinnati. I was amazed at the generosity of the Scout families and the dedication shown by the Scouts themselves as they continue to participate with a great organization. We were able to directly impact the lives of countless young people and that is what HP4K is all about,” said Scott of this year’s initiative.

The number of participating kids tripled from last year and one even received a bike. It has become one of the greatest joys of the holiday’s for the Scout Packs to be able to provide their underprivileged peers with something that is so readily available to them.

“The generosity and thoughtfulness shown by both HP4K and the Scout Packs was inspiring.  We feel honored to have been in their hearts and minds this Christmas season.  I wish I could explain how much of a positive impact the gifts truly made on every boy here.  We want both organizations to know, they made the closing of this year very special.” Tracy Blankemeyer, St. Joe’s Orphanage.

Reynolds and Scouts

Reynolds and Scouts

Spread of gifts from Scouts to St. Joe's

Gifts from Scouts to St. Joe's

St. Joe's Orphanage Receiving Gifts

St. Joe's Orphanage Receiving Gifts

St. Joe's Orphanage Child Receives Soccer Ball

Led by Erik Condra and Colin Greening, the Ottawa Senators (NHL) participated in their version of Give Moore for the Holidays this year with the players supporting 30 families and providing gifts for all of them in their Christmas Hamper Program.

The Senators are known to be very active in the Ottawa, Ontario community and provide so many people with a little extra over the holiday season. They’re also involved in a yearly initiative with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario where the players visit with the kids and provide a lot of extra enthusiasm around the holidays. (Read the full story on this year’s visit here.)

This year the team was also involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa as some of the kids were sponsored by local sports store, Sport Chek, to pick out additional Christmas presents for themselves. Three of the players were involved in the shopping with the kids as they helped them to pick out the best new sports gear.

The Sens aren’t just about giving back during the holidays. They believe in giving more all year long. Throughout the season there have been a few lucky teams of kids who play on the NHL ice before the game begins. After the kids play they get a chance to talk to some of the players, Condra and Greening among them, and then are given tickets to that night’s game.

Keep up with the Senators community initiatives this year through their website, and keep an eye out for HP4K’ers Erik Condra and Colin Greening!

Jeff Kyrzakos and the Rapid City Rush (CHL) ran Give Moore for the Holidays this year out in South Dakota. They invited 20 members from the local Boys Club to the game on December 21 against the Arizona Sundogs. It was the perfect opportunity for the Boys Club to see their favorite Rush players in action. The Rush came out on top with a 4-2 win over the Sundogs and the kids got to see Kyrzakos score his tenth goal of the season.

Along with attending a game, the kids were given a bag full of team gifts from the guys as early Christmas presents. It seemed that the tickets were the highlight though, as Rush tickets are a hot commodity in Rapid City. It was many of the kids’ first time coming to watch the team play and it became a night they’ll never forget.

“Our games are a real tough ticket to get in this town so it was great to be able to provide each of them with one. The kids all seemed to have a blast and the entire evening went over really well,” said Kyrzakos.

All season the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL) have been out and about giving back to people in the community. Whether it’s volunteering their time at a local after school program, reading to kids, or showing up for the occasional visit at a shelter, they’ve focused a lot of their free team on making sure the Las Vegas surrounding areas know they care.

In November the entire team spent the day helping 3-Square Food Bank - a local initiative that supplies food to over 600 of their Program Partners throughout Southern Nevada. The day consisted of putting together bag meals for the needy families at these partner locations. The players were divided up and put to work on a few different jobs.

“Some guys unpackaged the large boxes so the food was easy to divide. Others collected and packed the bags with a variety of foods. The rest of the guys broke down the boxes and plastic for recycling. It was a fun experience. We did a lot of work, but it was only one evening. It’s a real eye opener when you imagine how much needs to be done on a daily basis” said Wrangler Defenseman, Mike Madill.

The opportunities didn’t stop there though. Earlier this month the team went to Opportunity Village and volunteered in all of their activities for the evening. Opportunity Village is a non-profit organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities. They provide them with vocational training, employment and social recreation services that make their lives more productive and interesting. Again, the players were divided up throughout the village. Some guys worked the information booth and others helped with rides and games. All proceeds received from those who came for the night was given back to charity.

“This was another great event. Lots of locals and tourists came out to see the lights, had a hot chocolate and got into the winter spirit. A lot of people benefited from the whole experience,” adds Madill.

The Las Vegas Wranglers have so much more planned throughout the season to give back. Getting out there and showing their fans and supporters how much they care about the city they play in is at the top of their list. They believe their position gives them the unique opportunity to give back to those less fortunate, and they intend to take advantage of it.

“I first heard about the Stick to Reading program from a colleague in another KPMG office.  As soon as he described the program and how their employees got involved, I knew we had to get involved too.” Trace Chapman, KPMG LLP.

A connection was made this past summer which would involve HP4K and KPMG’s partnership with First Book. First Book is a nonprofit organization that provides new books to children in need by addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books. Although not all Stick to Reading programs happen in disadvantaged school districts, many programs look for schools who need that extra push. The goal is to provide a fun, exciting and affective way to get kids back into reading.

Through these partnerships member Scott Reynolds, KPMG, and First Book were able to facilitate the gift of a brand new, age-appropriate book for each student who participated inMidway Elementary School’s Stick to Reading.

“I was filled with great joy when the crowd cheered and clapped upon this announcement,” said Trace.

As a retired player, Reynolds was able to spend his time helping to organize the program and stay actively involved in the entire process. His focus was to work with KPMG to ensure the kids would be provided with the most exciting Stick to Reading finale the program has ever seen.

“It was a great opportunity to be involved in the entire process of Stick to Reading even after retiring from the sport,” Scott said, “KPMG and First Book gave the kids of Midway Elementary the best gift they could possibly get in order to keep the ball rolling with what Stick to Reading is all about.”

While playing alongside their hometown hockey heroes might be highlight of the program for most of the kids, the gift of a book for each student is exactly what is needed after a few weeks of putting reading back at the center of education and nightly activities. A big thank you goes out to KPMG and First Book for making this Stick to Reading a memorable one for all those involved.

“The students were thrilled to receive the books from KPMG.  They opened them immediately and began to read, some with partners or small groups.  I decided to make it an impromptu reading circle because I knew there was no way I could get them to put the books down.” Shelly Starline, Midway Elementary School, Fourth Grade Teacher