FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
PENTICTON, BC–The Penticton Vees Jr. ‘A’ Hockey Club is pleased to announce fundraising efforts from the Hogs vs. Hosers Charitable Fundraising night.
The Hogs defended their title from last year, defeating the Hosers 3-1, in exciting back-and-forth game during the first intermission. In total, $11,151 was raised for the SD67’s Breakfast program and over 3,200 pounds of food was collected for Valley First’s Feed the Valley.
The Vees played in front of their largest crowd of the season, as 4,002 fans packed the South Okanagan Event Centre to watch the Vees tangle with the Merritt Centennials on February 8th. Canucks anthem singer, Mark Donnelly entertained the crowd prior to puck drop with his trademark rendition of Oh Canada.
Neil Jamieson, of Underwriters Insurance, an advocate for the SD 67 Breakfast Program, says the money raised will go a long way in assisting students within the district.
"The school district breakfast program is a tremendous asset in our local schools. There are a lot of teachers and volunteers that make the program happen on a daily basis. Children learn and enjoy school with a healthy breakfast and going to school hungry is not an option in my mind."
Local schools from SD67 participated in a school spirit competition during the second intermission. An additional $1,500 was up for grabs courtesy of Underwriters Insurance, as schools had the opportunity to win $500 towards their Breakfast Programs in three categories:
- Columbia Elementary won $500 for being the school with the highest attendance.
- Parkway Elementary won $500 for the most signs of any school at the game.
- Giants Head Elementary was the most boisterous group, as they won $500 for showing the most spirit.
The Breakfast Program was created to ensure that ANY hungry student in participating schools is learning on a full stomach. The program is always looking for food donations from the local community as well as financial grants from organizations such as Breakfast for Learning.
Through tickets sales within the School District, a $2,500 donation from 50/50 sales on behalf of the BC Hockey Hall of fame and a generous $5,000 donation from CIBC Wood Gundy, the Breakfast Program will continue to assist students in the 11 participating schools within School District 67.
Vees Director of Ticketing, Greg Masson, was thrilled with the response from the local schools who took part, “The atmosphere was electrifying. The community rallied around the event to make the night a huge success. It's exciting to be able to assist schools involved in the hot breakfast program.”
A record 3,200 pounds of non-perishable food was collected for food banks across the South Okanagan, for Valley First’s Feed the Valley program.Feed the Valley is an innovative community partnership aimed at tackling hunger in the Okanagan, Similkameen and Thompson valleys. Designed to raise food, funds and awareness for local food banks, Feed the Valley was developed as a corporate citizenship program at Valley First.
The Penticton Vees next home game is Friday, February 22nd when they host their Interior Conference rivals, the Merritt Centennials; puck drop is 7pm. This is the seventh and final meeting of the regular season, so come out and support your team in one of the most heated BCHL rivalries. Tickets are available at the Valley First box office at the SOEC, or online at www.valleyfirsttix.com
