All NHL teams will host Hockey Fights Cancer nights and produce related contentGETTY IMAGES
The NHL and NHLPA are entering the 20th year of their Hockey Fights Cancer efforts, and the annual program will launch a new initiative aiming to take it beyond NHL rinks and into communities across North America. The new initiative, which will be called HFC Assist, was born out of last year’s Declaration of Principles, a joint-effort between the NHL and hockey’s stakeholders to better enrich the community around the sport. Teams and associations will be able to sign up their respective organizations through the Hockey Fights Cancer website, and then they will receive a tool kit that will allow them to also take part in the fundraising, including Hockey Fights Cancer helmet decals, hockey tape, fundraising tips and guidelines. "We really want to empower these teams and organizations to engage their community like how we do it on the NHL level,” said NHL VP/Special Projects & Corporate Social Responsibility Jessica Berman. “Now the entire hockey community can sign up and really raise their hand and be a part of this program.” She said that whether a specific team wants to sign up or a broader local hockey association does, the program will be open to groups of any size. Berman noted that through its partners the American Cancer Society and Canadian Cancer Society, the league has been stressing that it should produce as many decals and lavender hockey tape as possible ahead of what she expects to be a large number of signups.
OPEN TO ALL ORGANIZATIONS: The program is open to any organization in North America, and Berman said there is currently no estimate to how many groups will sign up -- only that the league is hoping that number increases in the years ahead. “This isn’t going to be a one-year thing, and we expect momentum will continue to build for this program as more teams use the platform to share their stories and others look to get on board as well,” Berman said. “The hope is that we can meet the demands, but I guess it’ll be a good problem to have if we need to produce more materials.” American Cancer Society Chief Development & Marketing Officer Sharon Byers said that that making sure the Hockey Fights Cancer message is engaging with local communities is critical for both the program and the overall fight against cancer. “A program like this can not only help kids further love hockey, but also really teach them how to give back,” Byers said. “The power of those two things combined can be a game changer in the sports industry, so my hopes are very high.” Berman said that as the Hockey Fights Cancer program has grown, the league has certainly noticed that “communities and teams are looking for more opportunities to give back.”
PLAYER REMAIN DEEPLY INVOLVED: Hockey Fights Cancer, which will begin in earnest in November, will maintain its annual slate of NHL-level events, including all 31 clubs having their own Hockey Fights Cancer nights and messaging and content being pushed out via the league and team’s digital and social platforms. NHLPA Dir of Marketing & Community Relations Devin Smith said that players are deeply involved in Hockey Fights Cancer, with many of them sharing stories on how they have been directly impacted by cancer in an effort to raise more funds for the program. Many of them are also actively reaching out to the NHLPA, he said, figuring out ways they can help raise funds via programs like Movember. During the player media tour prior to the start of the season, many players shared their stories or personalized signs that will be showcased in the month ahead. “As much as we’re spearheading some of this stuff from the PA perspective, the players really want to be involved,” Smith said. Dan Holinda, the Exec Dir of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Alberta office, said the effort to get the hockey community engaged with this program at all levels should be a boon for the overall fight against cancer. “The NHL and NHLPA have done a great job in spreading this message across their hockey family, and now we’re going to take it to the entire hockey community across North America,” he said. As of last year, the Hockey Fights Cancer platform has raised more than $20M dollars to support national and local cancer research institutions, children's hospitals, player charities and local cancer organizations.
