When rinks closed and ice sat empty, parents of players on the Humber Valley Sharks found themselves with monetary refunds in replace of potential medals and fun had with teammates. The extra funds served as an opportunity to give back to the many organizations working hard to serve the community amidst the COVID pandemic.

“When this pandemic began it became clear to our Board of Directors that the health and wellbeing of our local community was at risk,” explained Humber Valley President Steve Allmen. “We had an opportunity to work together with our community partners to help overcome these challenging times.”

The Sharks organization came together to raise $15,000, which will be allocated equally between three causes: the Breakfast of Champions, providing free meals to front-line hospital staff; Sienna Senior Living Meals Program to support staff in long term care facilities; and to the Michael Garron Hospital Foundation to fund personal protective equipment for front-line workers (PPE).

In the middle of a devastating global crisis, the Sharks have also been left to grieve the passing of longtime team manager George DeMarchi. George, who passed away on April 5, 2020, was a longtime supporter of the Daily Bread Food Bank – an organization that has seen increased demand since the start of the COVID crisis.

“In this time of great need we wanted to pay tribute to George and our other volunteers by helping the Daily Bread Food Bank, an organization he felt strongly about supporting,” explained Allmen.

In honour of George, the Sharks community once again banded together to raise $15,000 for the Daily Bread Foodbank.

“We were blessed to have him on our team and to be touched by his giving spirit.”

In total, the Sharks donated $30,000 to four different organizations to assist with COVID relief.