Red Wings raise money for a good cause

DETROIT -- The holidays are all about giving, and the Red Wings got into the holiday spirit this past weekend during the annual Red Wings for Red Kettles Campaign benefiting The Salvation Army.

For the past 12 years, Red Wings Executive Vice President & General Manager Ken Holland has lent his support to The Salvation Army as Honorary Chairman of the Red Wings for Red Kettles Campaign, which continued Friday as four teams of Red Wings players and alumni went into the community to bell ring and sign autographs at several metro Detroit locations.
The bell ringing teams included forwards
Justin Abdelkader
and
Darren Helm
as well as FOX Sports Detroit broadcasters Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond at Hockeytown Authentics in Troy, forward
Tomas Tatar
and goaltender
Petr Mrazek
at Kroger in Royal Oak, Red Wings legends Kris Draper and Chris Osgood at Kroger in Plymouth and former forward Kirk Maltby and radio broadcaster Ken Kal at Kroger in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Draper and Osgood took the 2017 bell ringing crown, raising $7,800 in two hours, while the corps of Red Wings representatives combined to raise $16,237 overall.
"While the holiday season tends to bring out the best in everyone, our Red Wings players, alumni and broadcast personalities lend a helping hand to a wide range of charities throughout the year," said Kevin Brown, Director of Community Relations & Detroit Red Wings Foundation. "Events like Red Wings for Red Kettles with The Salvation Army underscore our organization's tireless commitment to providing support for metro Detroit communities."
Proceeds from the annual Red Wings for Red Kettles Campaign support The Salvation Army's STRIVE youth floor hockey program, which teaches the basics of the sport of hockey, team building skills and positive sportsmanship behavior to children ages 8-12. The program was introduced in 2009 and included a complete upgrade of equipment at the four program sites last season.

To put the Red Wings' impact into perspective, the average red kettle collects $200 in donations each day. The donations collected by the four teams in just two hours on Friday would equal 81 days of bell ringing. Since 2005, the Red Wings have helped raise more than $150,000 for The Salvation Army.
"It's really great to have the Red Wings here," said Salvation Army Captain Jeff Eddy. "When they come out, we do a whole lot better, and people really love having them here to interact and sign autographs. Having the Red Wings here really helps us get the money that we need to continue the STRIVE Hockey Program."
Tatar, who along with Mrazek came in third in the competition with more than $3,072 raised, said while the bell ringing competition between players and alumni is fun, the opportunity to raise money for The Salvation Army is much more gratifying than competition bragging rights would've been.
"You're helping a good cause and it's nice to be here, nice to see the fans and talk to them. I wanted to help as much as I can," Tatar said. "It's a pleasure for me. There's nothing better than seeing them here with big smiles. People usually bring their kids, so it's awesome."
Tatar, a native of Slovakia, is rarely able to go home for the holidays because of the busy Red Wings schedule, but the forward said he's happy to have his family and friends come to Detroit to stay with him.
"My family is in town, and they're staying for a little while. We have a good stretch of home games now, so it's nice to have them around, especially around this time," Tatar said. "But, you know, we still have to play hockey, so you have to stay focused and do your job."