Game On Magazine 2017 Game On Magazine - Regular Season Edition | Page 53

JETS BRING
holiday cheer
TO FANS WITH TOy dRIVE & HOSPITAL VISIT S
WRITTEN BY JASON FRIESEN
Winnipeg Jets fans have been bringing lots of cheers to
home games this season. With such a successful start
to the 2017-18 campaign, there has been plenty to cheer
about. But the holiday season was a perfect time for the
Jets to bring some cheer of their own to their fans.
True North Sports + Entertainment and the Winnipeg Jets launched the
holiday season with their annual Toy Drive. The Toy Drive collected toys
at Jets Gear locations, as well as at home games on Dec. 1, Dec. 3, Dec. 11,
and Dec. 14, with the collected toys being put in Christmas hampers for the
Christmas Cheer Board.
The Jets players also got on board by putting smiles on the faces of kids who
also needed some holiday cheer by making hospital visits on December 13.
“Without the Toy Drive, we’d
have a tough time making sure
everybody gets a toy.”
KAI MADSEN, executive director of the
christmas cheer board
The players split into three groups, attending the Children’s Rehabilitation
Centre, the Children’s Hospital, and the Health Sciences Centre to meet with
patients, give away Jets gear, and sign autographs.
“Anytime you can give back is a huge day,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler.
“It’s obviously time well spent. Seeing kids that are going through a tough
time, families that are having a tough time, we want to be able to help out
people who are in situations like this and just bring any kind of happiness
you can to them.”
“You walk around here and you see what
they’re going through, you hear what they’re
going through and they still have a smile
on their face.”
NIKOL A J EHLERS, WINNIPEG JETS FORWARD