Friday night's game at the Castlegar Complex was Jersey Day as could be seen by the plethora of fans wearing their favourite teams' jersey. The major benefactor for the event, which was sponsored by the Castlegar News, was Jumpstart, which helps less fortunate kids play a number of sports.
Although the Rebels were unable to win on the ice, Jumpstart was a big winner with proceeds from a shooting gun/batting cage radar test going to help the organization help local youth.
"We're very happy to be here tonight at the game," said Kerry Saari of Canadian Tire, chair of the local Jumpstart chapter. "We want to thank the Castlegar News for choosing us as their charity of choice for national Jersey Day and national Sport Day. We also want to thank the Rebels for letting us be here and do some fundraising at their game."
Every penny that is donated to Jumpstart stays in the commnity, says Saari.
"We are fortunate that we are able to have fund-matching from our national group," she said. "So every penny will be doubled and stay in our community. We are very proud of what Jumpstart has been able to do. So far to date we've been able to help 73 kids in our community stay physically active. That's helping with their registration, equipment costs, and sometimes transportation costs. The idea is to make sure kids have the opportunity to participate in sports."
Jumpstart in the Castlegar and area have helped kids from 3-18 not just with hockey, but with tae kwon do, horseback riding, swimming, and many more.