FEATURE: Blackhawks Community Comes Together to Help Most Vulnerable

Sara Guderyahn stepped outside on a picturesque day in Chicago's northwestern suburbs to take her dog, Rosie, a little red cockapoo described by her owner as "25 pounds of energy and attitude," out for a walk.
It was a welcome change for Guderyahn as the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation's Executive Director had been holed up inside her house for the past two weeks while tirelessly guiding her team during its partnership with the Chicago Community Trust and United Way of Metro Chicago in a donation-matching initiative benefitting the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund.

Since it was announced March 18 that the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation would match the first $100,000 in individual donations contributed and it would be given directly to the response fund, Guderyahn and her staff have been laser-focused on reaching that goal.
The fund's mission is to rapidly deploy resources to local non-profit organizations serving the most vulnerable residents in the Chicago region as a result of the public health, social and economic consequences of COVID-19.
Near-term emergency needs, which include food and basic supplies, rent and mortgage assistance, utility assistance and some non-profit safety and operational assistance, among other categories, are in demand as a result of the pandemic that has raced across the globe and impacted the Chicago area.

Earlier this week, Guderyahn received word that donations from Blackhawks fans had reached the $100,000 mark and she was hit with a flood of emotions.
"When I heard that we had finally gotten over the threshold, I was just thrilled and excited to be able to share to everyone who had donated - whether they donated a dollar or $10,000 over the last two weeks - that it was through every one of their contributions that we were able to make the match," Guderyahn said. "I have such gratitude for being part of this team and for all of the work that's happened over the last two weeks to get here.
"We had representation from our fans, Blackhawks staff, our coaches, our players and our sponsors," Guderyahn continued. "Every single stakeholder of the Blackhawks community came forward to help us raise this match and, to me, it just speaks so highly of how we really are one community and are thinking about all of those vulnerable folks outside our walls and how we could help them."
Bolstered in the effort was the March 26 announcement that through his personal foundation, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews would commit a $100,000 donation to the Chicago Community COVID-19 Response Fund.
"For us, it wasn't just an incredible sign of Jonathan's leadership as our team captain and an incredibly generous donation from his own foundation, but it also actually reignited and inspired hundreds of our fans to donate in the days after that," Guderyahn said. "The visibility and the inspiration from our team captain was just invaluable for the overall effort."

Individual donations along with those from such Blackhawks sponsors as Enterprise, Delta Dental and the Caitlin Bull Foundation were gathered and have already begun being distributed by the Chicago Community Trust and United Way of Metro Chicago.
Guderyahn said those two organizations were the perfect partners for the Blackhawks Foundation in this endeavor.
"We knew that the United Way and the Chicago Community Trust were able to immediately evaluate the need on the ground because of their relationships and their support that already exists with social services agencies and other organizations," Guderyahn said. "That meant that not only did they know where the need was going to be but they knew how to deploy those resources so quickly."
With the Blackhawks Foundation's efforts to match the first $100,000 coming to fruition, Guderyahn and her team have shifted their main focus from immediate crisis response to working on long-term support for the community.
"This isn't going to be over in days, weeks or potentially even months," Guderyahn said. "The actual impact of this on communities from an economic standpoint, especially our most vulnerable populations, is going to be quite a long haul. So we want to also be strategic and proactive in how we think about supporting these communities in the months to come."
Guderyahn urged fans to continue donating to help those in need.
"In this crisis and beyond we are one community and so fans will be able to go online in the next few days and see what are all the different ways in which we're engaging with our fans and our supporters during this crisis," she said. "As part of our 'One Community' platform on our website they will be able to continue to donate so we're certainly not closing up shop there. If folks want to donate we'll continue to rally our supporters around that and be able to provide those resources to where they're needed the most."
By reaching the full match, the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation will provide more than $200,000 in support for the fund and coupled with Toews' commitment of $100,000, donations across the Blackhawks organization's charitable arm have exceeded $300,000.
"I'm most grateful for the fans," Guderyahn said. "It's with their support, understanding and generosity that we were able to do this."