By: Andrew MENDLER
Posted: Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Months into the offseason and the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs are still finding ways give back to the community.
The team recently donated a large basket of soap and shampoo along with $250 cash to the Columbus House of Hope, a women’s shelter in St. Paul. Hundreds of tiny bottles of soap and shampoo were collected by players over the course of this past season.
The idea to collect the items and find a local organization to donate them to came from Robb Hunter, the radio voice of the Pontiacs.
“The idea was something I had seen the Saskatchewan Roughriders do. I figured this was an incredibly simple way to give back to another great organization in the Lakeland,” said Hunter.
“We didn’t collect a truckload but I thought it was a good experience for the guys on the team and something they could take out on the ice. Hockey is a sport about doing the little things, making smart plays at the blue line, taking a hit to make a play, taking that extra step to get the puck to center to avoid an icing, not losing your assignment on a faceoff.
“Collecting soap and shampoo is an incredibly small gesture but every little bit helps. Being based in Alberta, hotel costs for the team continue to go up every year. As those travel expenses rise the least we could do as a team is to take the soap and shampoo provided in the rooms and give them to people that will use them.”
According to Hunter, staff at the Columbus House of Hope plan to use the soap and shampoo in the arrival packages they create for those new to the residence and the packages they have already been making include the same type of items the Pontiacs collected.
Hunter made the trip down to St. Paul and dropped off the donation on May 23.