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The Giving Kind: Squamish hockey team scores donations for flood victims

U13 A2 Squamish Eagles collect for Chilliwack food bank, with items going directly to evacuees.
Instead of slapping pucks into a net on the ice on Nov. 23, some Squamish hockey players stood in front of Save-On-Foods, putting donations in a net to help flood victims. 

The ripple effects of the Fraser Valley floods reached the U13 A2 Squamish Eagles players that day when their game in Chilliwack was cancelled due to the rising water. 

“I thought it would be great if the boys would [do a] fundraiser to collect goods for the food bank in the areas affected by the floods,” said Amanda Webster, manager of the team and mom of player Dorian. 

“We would have been on the road for four to six hours that night for a game. Taking two hours to collect for those going through some pretty hard times really isn’t a big deal.” 

Save-On-Foods management let the players set up outside the store’s front doors, where the players collected a hockey net full of non-perishable food items, diapers, dish soap and more.

“The boys did a great job explaining why they were fundraising,” said Webster.  

The players collected $404.10 at the store; an additional $110.90 was donated later, along with a $50 gift certificate for Save-On.

Webster did some research online to find a food bank that was supporting all communities. Cloverdale Community Kitchen was distributing goods to as many folks as they could help, so she got in touch.

The organization is closed on Sundays, but Matthew Campbell, director of the Cloverdale Community Kitchen, arranged for a truck to meet the Eagles players when the Squamish team played the Cloverdale Colts U13 A2 team on Nov. 28 at Cloverdale Arena.

“It’s going to help people out there and have a big impact immediately,” Campbell told the Cloverdale Reporter newspaper. 

He said the food was delivered to Charis Camp in Chilliwack, which was home to many flood evacuees. 

At one point in the flooding, the camp was feeding and housing 100 evacuees, according to a Facebook post by the non-profit camp. 

Webster said she would like to thank all the Tuesday night shoppers who made donations to the boys' effort. 

“I’m not sure these boys quite understand how proud they should be for doing this or the positive impact of what they collected will have, but they will one day," Webster said.  

The Eagles saw firsthand the deluge that hit the Fraser Valley. They were returning from a game in Mission when the storm moved in on Nov. 14. 

"We were all travelling through huge puddles," said Webster. "And then the roads washed out about an hour or two behind us.... I drive a RAV and the water was up to the bottom of the doors in a few of the spots. So the kids all would have seen what the rain was doing that day." 

Dorian, 11, said he saw "really, really, big puddles on the highway and lots of rain." 

He said it felt "good" to donate supplies to all the folks who may have lost their homes because of the flooding. 

He knows some of the kids he plays hockey against might even have been impacted. 

His message for others is, "Just be kind. And don't judge people for what they are doing. Just be kind." 

The Eagles will make up for the missed Chilliwack game on Dec. 21. 

For those who would also like to help victims of the floods,  the Cloverdale Community Kitchen is still accepting donations, as are these other accredited charities.

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