The Flyers Alumni Association is very active in supporting military veterans and veterans causes. From its close relationship with the Flyers Warriors hockey programs, annual "12 Days of Christmas" donations to organizations such as Team Foster to hockey clinics for Heroes League military families, the Flyers Alumni have made giving back to our service men and women one one of the core aspects of their programs on a year-round basis.
Recently, the Flyers Alumni partnered with Team Foster and America's ServiceDogs to create a life-changing donation for a veteran or first responder in need. Team Foster will help raise a labrador retriever puppy in preparation for advanced service dog training. When ready, the dog will be donated to a recipient in need.
Team Foster's Nick Liermann explained the process.
"The process takes about a year and a half. For the first 18 months, the dog works with a volunteer puppy raiser, training weekly or bi-weekly. That's about the time it takes to become a good canine citizen.When the dog is comfortable, and ready for the next phase, he will return to his training organization for advanced training. After that, the service dog will be ready, willing and able to tend to a selected veteran or first responder. It's a quality-of-life-changing experience," Liermann said.
"When you're position to help someone, you should do it," said Brad Marsh, the Flyers Alumni Association president and vice president of Flyers Community/Flyers Charities.
"This would not be possible without Team Foster, America's VetDogs and Flyers fans who support the Alumni's fundraising events. The money from our fundraisers go directly to our programs such as this one, our adaptive bicycle donations, and our 12 Days of Christmas donations."
Recently, the Flyers and the Flyers Alumni asked Flyers fans to vote in an online poll to choose a name for the lab puppy. The Flyers Alumni Association membership came up with a list of name choices. Flyers fans then selected their favorite.
The winning name: Stanley.
On May 20, 2025, members of the Flyers Alumni and a host of Flyers fans came out to the Great American Pub in Conshohocken, PA for a free meet-and-greet event. Participating Alumni: Bob "the Hound" Kelly, Paul Holmgren, Joe Watson, John LeClair, Neil Little, and Marsh. Stanley himself made an appearance, courtesy of Team Foster.
"There were three main purposes for the event. Number one: Introduce Stanley, by name, to Flyers fans. Number two: Celebrate the 50th and 51st anniversaries of the Flyers' two Stanley Cup parades in Philly. Number three: Encourage fans to sign up for our Walk/Run/Ride event on June 22, as part of our Alumni Charity Classic Weekend."
The Charity Classic weekend (June 21-23) consists of three different events at three different venues. Funds raised from each of three events go to support the Flyers Alumni Association's charitable and community service programs.
June 21, 2025: Pickleball tournament (Bounce Pickleball, Malvern, PA)
June 22, 2025: Walk/Run/Ride (Conshohocken, PA)
June 23, 2025: Golf tournament (Dupont Country Club, Wilmington, DE)
