Hockey players put the ''ice'' in ''nice'' with charity drive
Nov 21, 2009

They shoot, they score!....For well over five years now, a bunch of guys with missing teeth have been showing up in a central Mesa neighborhood, trying to recreate the childhood they enjoyed in the Great White North.

They've brought sticks, nets and balls and taught kids how to play hockey, though in the absence of frozen ponds they've opted for the street-and-tennis shoe variety.

Now kids in the old Watertower Neighborhood near Broadway and Horne regularly play street hockey on their own, a fine alternative to drugs or gangs or watching Fox News.

But the good work by the Hacker Hockey Club's Icemen That Care doesn't end there. Each year they help sponsor the Mesa CARE Partnership's Emergency Santa Shop, where folks can browse among donated toys, clothing and other items if they can't afford gifts for their families.

It's not a handout though. They use a voucher system where those who receive items can give back through community service, such as neighborhood cleanups, graffiti removal or babysitting.

We bring this up not only because it's a great program, but because the Icemen are starting their 11th annual Turkey Cup Toy Drive, where Valley hockey players bring new unwrapped toys to their respective rinks.

But you don't have to ice skate or say "Eh" to donate.
You can drop items by the CARE campus at 466 S. Bellview St. in Mesa or by Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe.

They need sweat suits, sports balls, board games for older children and items for teens. And if you can't decide what to get, money is always the right color.
Info: 480-962-5197 or hackerhockeyclub.com.

John D'Anna is the Mesa Republic editor. If you have an item to submit, paperclip it to a government stimulus check and send it to him. Or you could just e-mail him at john.d'anna@arizonarepublic.com.

Related Programs & Services

Emergency Santa Shop
The Emergency Santa Shop is open until Christmas Eve Day to provide help for families in crisis situations when other help is not available. CARE brightened the holidays for more than 1,500 children in 2005.

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