Skating for Hope Flyer

It was two years ago that I was skating with my friend Megan. We had been skating for almost 2 hours straight, and were hoping the rink manager wouldn’t kick us off when the public skating session was over. He didn’t, and we kept going for 2 ½ hours. After we passed the 2 hour mark and I still felt like I could go for at least 2 more, I asked Megan if she thought it was possible for someone to skate for 24 hours straight. She said yes, and my Skating for Hope idea was born.

After I thought of the idea, the next step was finding a rink that I could use for 24 hours. I contacted FMC Ice Sports, and they said it was a great idea and could give me a discounted rate for the Skating for Hope event. Even with the big discount, the rink rental price was still beyond my Hope Lodge Night Manager budget, but I was confident I would find a way to fund it.

Thanks to my friend Glen, cousin Katie, and sister Megan, I decided to use my huge t-shirt collection to raise money to pay FMC so I could hold skating for Hope. So, www.davestshirts.blogspot.com was born, and I wore and wrote about a different t-shirt for every day of 2010.

My sister Carolyn made http://bit.ly/davestshirtsforhope for me, and t-shirt orders and donations started rolling in. It only took a couple of months, and I had raised enough money to fund Skating for Hope. Two years after I thought of the idea, I could tell I was on the verge of actually having a date for it.

I contacted some former BC hockey players online to see if they were interested in joining me for part of Skating for Hope, and their response has been overwhelming. Now, I have a date, place, and BC hockey players who have told me they are going to join me for a “BC Hockey Alum Hour”. To say I’m excited is like saying I’ll be happy if the Bruins win the Cup (I still believe, even after tonight).

I emailed the person in the BC hockey office who organizes an annual BC Alumni hockey game, and he asked me to come with a flyer that he could forward to other Eagles. Here’s what I came up with. I hope it helps me get enough players for at least a scrimmage...

PS - I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has helped me make Skating for Hope possible. Thanks to everyone that supported my t-shirt blog, helped with the New Year's Eve party, made donations for t-shirts, and thanks to the Hope Lodge guests and everyone at Hope Lodge who helped inspire me to start Skating for Hope!