The St. Clements Old Saints Hockey Club is getting set to host its 44th annual tournament and fundraiser this weekend.
“This is our lone fundraiser of the year – it has to go well. We’ve done it for so long now; I’ve been involved since I was a little kid,” said club president Brian Bettridge.
Founded in 1977, the pickup hockey club has also made an effort to support charitable causes.
“We take a good portion of the proceeds from that tournament and give back to the community. Depending on the request, they come over from the community, so sometimes it’s individuals who are having a tough time with medical bills for kids or people who have gotten ill and they need help with something – we’ll definitely reach out a helping hand financially,” Bettridge said. Annually, the club donates between $2,000 and $4,000 locally.
The majority of the funds raised will come through a raffle table and a silent auction. The club is also requesting donations of prizes or cash contributions. There will be a wide variety of prizes available.
“We usually ask for a variety because we do have a fairly mixed demographic that attend the tournaments. We go anywhere from kids toys to gift baskets to larger things like hockey sticks and jerseys and I believe there’s some furniture coming that’s hand built,” Bettridge said.
This year part of the proceeds will be donated to the St. Clements Lions Club to help with their plans for a memorial monument.
The 16-team tournament held at the St. Clements arena gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday and the final game is at 5 p.m. on Sunday. The old Saints Club will also be hosting a dance on Saturday evening.
A lot of effort goes into hosting the tournament, Bettridge added.
“There are over 220 man hours of volunteer time required to run this tournament.”
Those wanting to donate prizes or make cash contribution can contact Brian Bettridge at schmutzie4@yahoo.ca. Pickup arrangements will be made.
