Red Wings give back with the Hometown Holiday Assist

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. - The age-old adage during the holiday season is it's better to give than to receive.
And sometimes, selfless generosity can go a long way and pay dividends.

That was the case Thursday night for 20 metro Detroit children who teamed up with the Red Wings for the third annual Hometown Holiday Assist.
20 kids from Jack Adams Memorial Arena's introductory hockey program joined Red Wings players Mike Green, Jimmy Howard, Xavier Ouellet and Ryan Sproul, along with members of the Lady Wings organization at Meijer in Madison Heights, Mich., to purchase gifts for Children's Hospital of Michigan patients unable to go home for the holidays.
"Our entire organization cherishes the holiday season as a time for giving to others, and often to those you don't personally know," said Kevin Brown, director of community relations and Detroit Red Wings Foundation. "Hometown Holiday Assist is about so much more than providing gifts to Detroit's youth."
"It reinforces a powerful message of placing the needs of others before oneself. We know the children walked away from this event with a stronger appreciation of making someone else's holiday just as special as their own."

Each child from Jack Adams Arena was paired with a member of the Lady Wings organization or a staff volunteer from the Red Wings and Olympia Entertainment to roam the aisles of Meijer, looking for gifts for less fortunate children who are stuck in the hospital.
"It was a lot of fun. I was walking around with the kids and they were all so excited to get gifts for other kids," said Ouellet, who floated around the store with his teammates, helping any way they could. "Usually as a kid, you're thinking about yourself, but it wasn't like that at all. They were all in the spirit of sharing and trying to get nice gifts for people that they might not even know, so it's great to see that."
The gifts purchased during the shopping spree will be donated to the Children's Hospital of Michigan Snowpile Program--which collects donated toys--and will be delivered to the hospital by Red Wings players when the team makes its annual holiday visit on Dec. 14.
And while the kids from Jack Adams Arena were thrilled to help purchase gifts for less fortunate children in the hospital, they were overjoyed when the Red Wings players told them they'd be rewarded for their generosity by receiving their own Meijer shopping spree.
"It was a blast," Howard said. "The kids' generosity and wanting to give back to the Children's Hospital was awesome to see, especially at such a young age. And because of their generosity, they got a huge surprise where they got to go shopping as well. They were ecstatic. It was great to see their faces light up. You could truly sense they were having a blast."
But the surprises weren't over just yet.
After going through checkout with toys and games for themselves, the kids from Jack Adams Arena were treated to one last reward, receiving their own, brand-new hockey equipment including a stick, gloves, helmet and pants, courtesy of the Red Wings and Warrior Hockey, and a pair of skates, courtesy of the Red Wings.
"That's awesome with the help of Warrior that we could do that and get gear for these kids to play and live their dreams," Ouellet said. "Equipment is pretty expensive and it's really hard to get, so it's fun to see the kids get it and get a chance to live their dream."

While the players enjoyed picking out toys and gifts for Children's Hospital of Michigan patients, and the Red Wings will be honored to make their annual hospital visit next Wednesday, Howard said visiting the Children's Hospital around the holidays is always bittersweet.
"I'm not going to lie, it's tough," the Red Wings' goalie said. "When you go in there and you see what the children are battling through, it's tough. Especially now, having children of my own, to see them in that situation, you get a little emotional yourself. You never want to see anyone go through that. But to be able to go up there and just give them a few moments of cheer, it's definitely well worth it."
The shopping spree wouldn't have been possible without the help of the volunteers from Olympia Entertainment and the Red Wings, as well as the continued support of the Lady Wings, which is a network of wives, fiancées and girlfriends of Red Wings players, coaches and staff who serve alongside the organization to meaningfully impact metro Detroit communities.
Lady Wings in attendance Thursday were Sproul's girlfriend Lindsay Broughton, Ouellet's girlfriend Liz Kranz, Johan Franzen's wife Cissi, Steve Ott's wife Erica, Red Wings strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar's wife Michele and Howard's wife Rachel, who said she was excited to be part of the heartwarming event and was blown away by the kids' compassion and kindness.
"It's huge, definitely. We wouldn't miss it," Rachel Howard said. "It's an important time of year for everyone. They were just excited to shop for the kids in the hospital. They didn't think they were getting anything in return and they were still excited. And then they found out they got to shop for themselves and then they got hockey equipment. It's huge. It's really, really special."
The Red Wings begin a five-game home stand Friday night before hitting the road for three straight games leading up to Christmas, and Ouellet said he's looking forward to having his family travel to Detroit for the holidays.
"It's going to be a good time," the native of Bayonne, France said. "Growing up, it was a big family thing. We have a pretty big family back home. It was a time of year where you get to see everyone. Unfortunately, I don't get to do this anymore, but I've got my close family coming to me and I still get to experience this family Christmas."