A recent charity hockey game raised money for local mental health causes.
The game was a GetInTouchForHutch initiative, the organization launched by the Hutchison family after their son and brother, Steven, took his own life in 2013.
The game was played at the Arthur Community Centre on Sunday, December 29, 2024 between a team of GetInTouchForHutch SH44 stars and the Wellington North Fire Department in Arthur.
Eric Stewart, a volunteer firefighter who helped organize the event with Steven's younger brother Kevin, says last year they played against Mount Forest Patriots alumni, but the plans changed this year.
"So then I was thinking what could we do in Arthur? And they were the first ones that came to my mind because everyone in town loved Steven and loves the Hutchison family," Stewart explained,
The game also featured a true live hockey intermission as the Arthur Tim Bits Vipers took to the ice to show off their skills.
Stewart says getting the firefighters involved was a no brainer, even if they almost lost all their players on game day.
"Being a volunteer firefighter in Arthur here, I just put out a group message asking who wants to play hockey and everyone hopped on that could. It nearly screwed us in the morning because we had a fire call so we lost half our team, so we had to call some of the Arthur regulars to help us out," Stewart chuckled.
The game raised over $1,000 on the day. Stewart says he's very proud of the effort from everyone involved and the community for coming together. Stewart grew up with and frequently played road hockey with Steven in Arthur (as did the author of this piece), and he says being able to keep Steve's memory alive means a lot to him and the whole town.
That certainly rang true on game day, as the Arthur Community Centre, affectionately referred to as the ACC, was packed with supporters.
"I think they said it was donation on the entry and then we had a bunch of raffle draws, so thanks to everyone who helped out with that. It was probably close to a sellout in the Arthur barn, we had people standing all around the boards and it didn't look like there was many seats available," shared Stewart proudly.
The game's over $1,000 was bundled together with proceeds from the Mental Health Awareness lacrosse game with the Fergus Thistles, the 2nd annual Dodge for Dads Dodgeball tournament organized by Perth-Wellington MP John Nater, a car wash put on by the Fergus Whalers Junior C club, the Norwell Change for Change program and numerous donations totalling $5,000.
That was donated recently by GetInTouchForHutch to the Grove Youth Hub in Guelph run by CMHA Waterloo Wellington.
For more on GetInTouchForHutch and their ongoing mental health advocacy, visit https://getintouchforhutch.com/.
For more on the Grove Youth Hub, visit https://www.thegrovehubs.ca/.