Defending the Blue Line – Helping Kids of Military in Hockey
When kids are interested in something, they struggle to understand when their parents say they can’t participate because of costs. In today’s economy, many families struggle to make ends meet and still be able to let their kids participate in sports and other activities. However it is sometimes even harder when it comes to families with a parent in the military who is deployed or worse if the parent has been injured while serving or killed in action. Enter Defending the Blue Line.
Defending the Blue Line is a non-profit organization created by a group of National Guard soldiers from Minnesota. The charity assists families of all branches of the military in the United States and Canada with costs associated with hockey. Their assistance comes in a variety of ways from helping deserving families attend National Hockey League games through tickets to providing financial assistance when it comes to registration fees, free equipment and summer hockey camps.
Many colleges, NHL players, and companies have become involved with this great cause. During the Boston Bruins Military Appreciation Night game against the Tampa Bay Lightning held on Veterans’ Day, November 11, 2013, Patrice Bergeron donated his “Patrice’s Pals” VIP box for the second year to Defending the Blue Line. After the game, those attending will get an opportunity to meet Bergeron and get autographs and pictures.
One of the newest companies to get involved is Upper Deck, the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company.
Upper Deck announced on Veterans’ Day that they have donated more than 6,000 packs of new NHL cards for Defending the Blue Line to share with kids in the program during the holiday season.
We couldn’t be more excited about helping Defending the Blue Line by providing the organization new packs of NHL cards to be used with kids throughout the holidays.
“We couldn’t be more excited about helping Defending the Blue Line by providing the organization new packs of NHL cards to be used with kids throughout the holidays,” said Jason Masherah, President of Upper Deck. “Upper Deck loves to assist charities involving the military and kids, so to find a charitable organization that targets both those key demographics was very exciting for the company. We are looking forward to continuing our efforts to help the organization in the future, and we know this donation will be a great way to share the fun of collecting NHL cards with these very worthy kids.”
On this day of remembrance many people are saying thanks to those who have served and are serving in the military. One way for that thanks to extend to the family of that service man or woman is through a donation to the Defending the Blue Line charity.
