The Medicine Hat Cubs hockey team is raffling off a new Hyundai vehicle in a fundraising effort aimed at giving the non-profit franchise some stability.--SUPPLIED IMAGE
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The Medicine Hat Cubs Junior B Hockey Club is selling raffle tickets with a grand prize of a 2021 Hyundai Kona AWD to support the hockey club and the Canadian Mental Health Association in the Hat.
The vehicle is valued at $32,590 and tickets can be bought in four different quantities: one for $10, four for $20, 20 for $50 or 100 for $100.
“We’re doing this to certainly raise funds for our program. It costs a lot to run a Junior B program and we want to eventually get it to the point where it’s cost effective on the players playing in that particular year and we don’t want our board to always be taxed with always having to fundraise,” said Randy Wong, head coach and general manager for the Cubs. “If we can make this an annual, one large fundraising event, maybe that’s all we have to do to get through a year and still run our budget as we see to have a successful year.”
Wong says they are always trying to attract players to southern Alberta through three keys. He says education is one of the main things that can attract a player and he says Medicine Hat College accomplishes that for them, while another key is they have sponsors and businesses throughout the city that will employ its players and the final key is offer a program and reduce the fees to the point a player doesn’t have to pay much to play – something the fundraiser is trying to accomplish.
“We make sure equipment and gear is top-notch and all that just requires funding to do and we’re hopeful we can attract the players needed to win a championship here,” said Wong.
The Cubs are a non-profit organization focused on family and development of players.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward team expenses like jerseys, ice time, travel and equipment. However, the club will also use some funds raised to make a donation to the Canadian Mental Health Association in Medicine Hat.
“It’s an easy one for us. I think people in Medicine Hat and Alberta understand what’s happened in our community with some young gentlemen, so we want to be able to show our respects and look at trying to bring awareness to suicide prevention and Canadian mental health and people who are having negative thoughts,” said Wong.
Wong adds if they are allowed fans at games this upcoming season, they plan to have a memorial game in conjunction with the mental health foundation with another fundraising effort. Wong says it is also a topic that means a lot to him personally.
“It hits home real close. I’ve known some of these young gentlemen over the years, I’ve coached some of them, they’ve been a part of a lot of my hockey programs and some of them were former Cubs players, so this was our way of showing our support,” he said.
Anyone who wants to buy raffle tickets can do so at MHCubsraffle.com with sales running until Oct. 15 when the draw will take place.
