Kitchener as a City has always been as been a very proud and dedicated Hockey Community, but pulling on the Travel Blues always adds a little added pride and responsibility to every young lady privileged enough to wear it and represent it in every arena they enter, in Ontario, Canada and occasionally Countries beyond. But the greatest lessons learned, are the ones they learn at home, as members of the greater good.
When Hockey is their passion there are many financial requirements that go along with simply putting a player on the ice, and although there is no greater feeling for them than playing along side teammates, and in front of a large and boisterous Kitchener crowd, there are local families who may never get to experience a moment like this, and who each and every day struggle just to provide the basic necessities needed to raise a family.
During this festive season, the Girls of the 2015/2016 Kitchener Lady Rangers Peewee ‘A’ Squad spent a great deal of time on a Christmas List, but this list wasn’t for them or about them, it was for a Local Kitchener family who needed some help with Holiday Cheer. An opportunity our Young Ladies were all to eager to jump at. So on December 12th the Lady Rangers pooled together their allowances, birthday money and any other funds they could acquire and set out for a local Mall to make some Christmas Wishes come true.
The ‘Belles in Blue’ hit the mall with the same drive, focus and determination they have always displayed on the ice and they understood this wasn’t about a win for the team, but rather it would be a win for the Community, and it would be a moment in life they can always be proud of. They shopped together, and they wrapped together, they were very much the embodiment of the giving and charitable beating of the Proud Kitchener Heartbeat.
As I awoke this Christmas morning with all warmth and glow of spending a wonderful Holiday with the people I love and the small moments that become lasting memories, I paused for a breathtaking moment as I sipped my coffee and gazed into the Family Tree, I knew somewhere out there and within the city limits, there was a single Mother and her three children, who like me, had awoke to the excitement, warmth and love that only the giving of one heart to another can create. I could not be prouder of our Lady Rangers for the insight and forethought they showed in ensuring others like them had reason to celebrate.
The Holiday Season can be difficult for some, but with the thoughtfulness of the Peewee ‘A’ Lady Rangers, the Staff, and the entire Parent Family there will always be room for kindness, giving and an awareness that we can all do our part in ensuring the Community we live in, whether it be in Hockey or in Life, will always have someone to lean on when they need them the most.
Happy Christmas to all our Girls and their Families, your continued selfless acts have made this Grinch Like Author’s Heart grow Ten Times Today.