ALS fundraising ball hockey tournament a community wide success with a future

By James Tubb on June 17, 2022.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com
Twitter: ReporterTubb

Gerad Wagenaar is still blown away by the community support at the Karen’s Purple Shirt ball hockey tournament in early June.

He said they raised around $23,000 this year after not being able to have one the past two due to COVID-19. He said that was $2,000 less than what they raised in their first tournament in 2019 but was still way more than expected.

“It blew all my expectations, I couldn’t imagine raising that much,” Wagenaar said. “I was hoping to make 10 or $12,000, I was super happy with that. But to double what I was hoping for, it really sent me back and made me think a little, like holy smokes, I think we found something here that we can continue for years on.”

The tournament ran the first weekend of June and Wagenaar said he kept it low-key because coming off of the years missed with COVID-19 he didn’t want to over promise and under deliver. On top of the hockey tournament with a $1,000 purse they had a silent auction with proceeds all going to ALS Society of Alberta.

The Wagenaar’s have held the Karen’s Purple Shirt Party to raise funds for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) since Karen died in 2017. Wagenaar said he took it personally when his mom died and wanted to do what he could to raise awareness and money. He said he’s been in contact with a woman from Milk River who has four kids and has lived with an ALS diagnoses for over a year now.

“It tugs at my heartstrings when I hear stuff like that, just because I know what they’re going to have to go through and it’s no fun as a child,” Wagenaar said. “To see a parent or someone you love, they’re still living and breathing  but knowing that, one day they might not have their grip strength or their arm strength, or they might not be able to walk that day. It’s tough. I know what those kids are going to have to go through and there’s nothing I can do about it, but be there and support them.”

He said the tournament would not be possible without the help from family and friends and the sponsorships they received from around the community. Wagenaar said there were too many to mention but, “they know who they are and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Medicine Hat High School has held an annual purple shirt basketball night with the cost of admission going toward ALS charities.

He said he’s still surprised when people donate, not because it isn’t a good cause but because they’re willing to give up their hard earned money on a charity they might not have any relation to.

“It’ll always be surprising no matter how much they donate, how often they donate, it’ll always be surprising to me and I can’t thank those people enough for doing what they do,” Wagenaar said.

He said the winning team of the tournament — Devin Jasper, Liam Jasper, Ricu Huber, Keith Vis and Adam Coehorn — donated a majority of their winnings back to the charity, and so did the second place team.

“It just goes to show you that, it’s not about money for these people. It’s about coming out and supporting a good cause, and I’ll be forever grateful for those people who do that,” Wagenaar said.

He hasn’t started planning next year’s ball hockey tournament but hopes people mark their calendars for next June for a weekend of raising money, playing hockey and eating burgers.

When asked how proud his mom would be of their fundraising efforts, Wagenaar said she would be proud but she would not want the attention.

“She would want us to do what we’re doing and do it for ALS, but not in her name.”

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