Serving up games, food and family friendly fun, the Wood County Habitat for Humanity will hold its first annual Hockey for Habitat Ball hockey tournament this Saturday.
As executive director, Mark Ohashi felt that a signature and unique fundraising event was needed to promote the organization’s work which provides sustainable and affordable housing for families in Wood County.
As the team brainstormed fundraising ideas earlier this year, Ohashi wanted something to differentiate them from the other non-profits in the area.
“I’m a hockey fan – born and raised in Montreal – and when I found myself in BG, I thought that it would be a fun idea to get the community involved and follow the character of this hockey city,” Ohashi said.
Local companies and community members were invited to register in teams that will compete in a 4-on-4 style street hockey match. Teams range from four to ten players with the addition of a free agent former pro-hockey player that will be drafted to each team. With simple equipment and running shoes, the teams will face off to decide the winner of the team trophy and a Buffalo Wild Wings gift card.
There was no entry fee this year, but teams competed in fundraising to see who would clinch the top spot for the Free Agent Draft.
The draft will be held on Friday at Buffalo Wild Wings starting at 6 p.m. Fifteen percent of all food purchases from that evening will also be donated to the Wood County Habitat Organization with the presentation of a Draft Night flyer. Players such as Darren McCarty, a former Detroit Red Wing, will be participating as well as former Toledo Walleyes player Kyle Rogers.
Darren McCarty, who now hails from Detroit, heard about the Hockey for Habitat fundraiser through mutual friends and decided to help his neighbors in Wood County. Being previously involved with the Habitat for Humanity program in Detroit, McCarty said, “Change starts within (the) community. You have to take care of what is around you. (We) have to help our community and those around us to be able to move on to bigger and better things.”
McCarty hopes to bring some healthy competition to the game while having a good time raising awareness for the Habitat foundation. He hopes to continue to participate and help his Ohio neighbors through this event in the years to come.
All of the proceeds from the event and the team fundraising will go toward the building of new homes and the start of a repair mission to upkeep homes here as well. Donations can be made and the team totals can be tracked online at http://www.givinggrid.com/if/wchabitat.
Opening ceremonies for the event start at 9 a.m. on Saturday at Bowling Green City Park. The games will commence shortly thereafter and last until 4 p.m. During the tournament, there will be other fun activities for families and spectators to participate in.
In addition to hockey skill games, food, and raffles, hockey tickets and memorabilia from the Detroit Red Wings, Toledo Walleye and BGSU will be up for auction starting at 12:30 p.m. with local auctioneer Don Rose to oversee the bidding.
More information and event updates can be found on their website, https://www.wchabitat.org.
