The Timmins Flyers are taking on the local police and firefighters in a hockey showdown for a cause this week.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, Jan. 31) at the Archie Dillon Sportsplex, the Timmins Flyers Midget A hockey team is facing off against members of the OPP, Timmins Police and local firefighters to raise money for the family of Lydia Rose Allard.
The puck drops at 8 p.m. and entry is by donation.
Aside from the action on the ice, there will be a 50/50 draw, prize table, silent auction with NHL jerseys, and a door prize.
Raising money for the community has become a tradition for the hockey team.
Flyers head coach and owner Kim Barney said the team has been doing a charity hockey game for about seven years.
“The whole idea behind it is that we wanted to give back to the community and some of the people out there want to help, but they just don’t know what to do or where to go,” said Barney. “We’re creating a venue for them to come out and help some people in our community.”
At the beginning of the season, he said parents were told about the fundraiser. Lydia was brought up as a potential recipient of the money raised, and Barney said everyone agreed that the game should benefit the family of the two-year-old, also known as Liddybug, who was born with a rare neuromuscular disorder.
“Lydia uses adaptive devices to sit, raise her arms and simply hold her head up. As Lydia grows, her needs change,” reads the poster for the fundraiser. “The financial burden on the family is heavy. This includes nightly nursing while Lydia sleeps along with devices required for her day-to-day routine, and many medical appointments to Ottawa which involve flying Lydia to CHEO hospital and require special accommodations.”
In the community, Barney said people have started to look forward to the annual charity game.
On the street, he said people ask when it will be held.
“It’s getting out there more and more, which makes it better for the recipients,” he said.
For the team, it’s giving them a sense of community
Barney said the game lets players “find out that hockey isn’t just about playing the game, it’s about being involved in the community and helping people out.”
Last year’s game raised $4,600. This year, Barney is aiming a bit higher and hopes to surpass $5,000.
