LOS ANGELES -- Teams come together in different ways, as Skate for LA Strong showed with first responders, celebrities and NHL alumni taking the ice at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday to support relief efforts for the wildfires that devastated greater Los Angeles last month.
Fittingly, sports have been at the forefront of helping the region address the disaster, starting on Jan. 13, when 12 professional teams, including the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, came together to pledge more than $8 million in donations. Additional efforts have included raising funds through charity auctions and the sale of special merchandise, staging relief drives, and recognizing first responders.
“Sports are like the common denominator that always bring people together,” said Matt Leinart, the 2004 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback at USC who is now a college football analyst. “You know, they bring communities together, whether it’s hockey, football, basketball. I probably speak for a lot of people, we knew a lot of people impacted by the fires, friends, family. And so just for the Kings to put this day on with the first responders and just show their support and try to raise money for a great cause … just to be a part of this with such a great organization is awesome to be a part of.”