Montreal Canadiens’ dedication to community
It’s no surprise for fans of the NHL to hear about their favorite team doing good, purposeful community work. Throughout the course of the year, news about NHL players visiting hospitals and conducting fundraisers was publicized showing everyone that these prominent figures in sport aren’t all about playing on the ice and butting heads with their opponents; they’re also people who care about others and the community they live in.
The Montreal Canadiens aren’t only striving to become the best team in hockey. They’re also devoted to helping underprivileged children live a much better life. Through an In-Kind Donation Program, the team is able to help a number of charitable organizations. What the Canadiens do with the program is donate signed memorabilia to non-profit organizations that is used for raffles and auctions. Priority is always given to programs whose focus is on improving the quality of life of children through health care, recreation, and education. Apart from the In-Kind Donation Program, the team, players, staff and alumni also raise funds. A recent feat was garnering $226,000 at the Michael Therrien Invitational, which benefits several children’s foundations. The invitational golf tournament was organized by none other than the team’s head coach and, despite the weather, was a great success.
The Canadiens have been involved in many fundraisers and charity work with the latest involving members of the Canadiens alumni. Hall of Fame defenceman Larry Robinson was in Montreal for Strike Out Cancer, a poker tournament to raise money for the Jodi Taiger Lazarus Fund for Hereditary Breast Cancer Research. Joining Robinson at Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake last weekend were Guy Lapointe, Guy Carbonneau and Jacques Demers.
Sports clubs and poker provider partnerships are quickly becoming a trend because of the amount of donations that such partnerships yield. For example, several years ago, there was the “Road to Old Trafford Charity” event, which was organized by an English soccer player named Rio Ferdinand. The event pitted sports and poker players against each other in a memorable tournament. In 2012, gaming provider Betfair hosted the Thor Hansen Charity event to aid the “Godfather of Scandinavian Poker” with his spiraling medical bills. Because of the connection, a significant amount of donations, within and outside of the event, was given as support to Hansen. Perhaps the most successful tie up of all though is Allan Houston’s Legacy Foundation and its successful poker tournaments, which, in 2013, was able to raise a whopping amount of $250,000 to help deprived children in the New York area go to college through sponsored scholarships.
Poker has somewhat been frowned upon in the U.S. when the government decided to shut down sites that offered pay-to-play poker services. Now, however, it seems that opinions about the sport are changing. These providers are actively supporting communities, and are trying their best to be a part of the solution. Some analysts are even suggesting that the coming together of the Canadiens and poker could easily top the revenues of recent charitable events.