University of Windsor Lancers head out on the road to help others win
Mason Kohn and the Windsor Lancers are heading to Merritt, B.C. at the end of the summer to help build five homes for people in the First Nations communities in Nicola Valley displaced by wildfires and floods last year.
Kohn spent time in B.C. for a job last summer.
“I'd always see helicopters coming in, dropping water all over. There were so many resources that were being expunged and I thought ‘people are still devastated by these events,’” said the recently-named captain of the men's hockey team.
Head coach Kevin Hamlin added, “There's still 600 people in Merritt that are outside their homes. You know, Merritt's a pretty small place. To think that we're going to help just a little bit, I think will be important.”
A contingent of 35 players, coaches and other university staff will head out during the last week of August. They'll be joined by Unifor employees in the skilled trades to help with the build.
“People will donate their time and they will go there. We will pay their expenses and per diems and then their time is on their own. They take vacation time and they go rebuild this,” said Unifor Local 444 president Dave Cassidy after presenting Hamlin with a cheque for $50,000 to help the relief effort.
“I know coach has always said to us he just doesn't want to produce champions on the ice. He wants to produce champions off the ice and that was something very important to us,” said Cassidy.
As part of the trip the Lancers will also offer a hockey academy to the youth of the community through a partnership with the Merritt Centennials Jr. hockey team.
Once they are off the ice players will then participate in one of three community outreach presentations developed by the “Lancers.
The programs include ’Lancers Against Bullying,’ ‘Lancers Shutout Domestic Violence’ and ‘Skate Against Hate.’
Hamlin feels these programs will be part of the legacy they leave behind when their job is done.
“We are leaving these there for the Merritt Centennials so that they can go in the schools and do what we do here,” he said.
Khon likes how the trip is well rounded.
“We get to use our sport to be able to contribute to the community in many different ways,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.