Sharks Foundation Gives Back During Hockey Fights Cancer Month

November marked the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer (HFC) initiative, and in the spirit of the campaign, the Sharks Foundation partnered with a variety of non-profit organizations that focus on offering support, care and crucial services to those who are fighting or have fought cancer.

The Foundation kicked off Hockey Fights Cancer Month presented by
Kaiser Permanente
with a
Mystery Puck
fundraiser featuring four designs that children from the
Kids & Art Foundation
created during the 20-21 season. Through this year's puck sales, the Foundation provided Kids & Art Foundation with a $3,000 donation, in addition to the $5,000 generated through last season's sales, to support their mission of using the power of the arts to mitigate stress, anxiety and trauma induced from diagnosis and treatment of pediatric cancer. The donation will impact 250 individuals, including pediatric patients and their families.
Every 50/50 Raffle presented by
Cache Creek Casino Resort
throughout the month of November generated funds for non-profit beneficiaries with cancer-focused missions. On November 2, the raffle raised $3,040 for
Camp Kesem at Santa Clara University
which will assist them in providing free services for children whose parents are battling cancer, including a week-long sleepaway camp. On November 4, the beneficiary was the
American Cancer Society
. The $4,065 raised will support their
Courageous Kids Day
which Executive Vice President of the ACS's West Region Jeff Klass describes as an event that "allow(s) children and their caregivers to see others like them surviving. The day represents the Society's commitment to helping patients of all ages, while adding to our work in pediatric cancer research and the free cancer information we provide families." The November 6 raffle generated $5,815 for
Pink Ribbon Girls
which will help them provide healthy meals, rides to treatment, housecleaning services, and peer support to breast and gynecological cancer patients and their families.
On November 13, the Sharks Foundation came together with Sharks365 members to support the
Jessie Rees Foundation
, packing 500 JoyJars for pediatric patients. The Jessie Rees Foundation was inspired by one courageous and compassionate 12-year-old little girl: Jessica Joy Rees, better known as "Jessie," who fought cancer from March 3, 2011 to January 5, 2012. In her efforts to support other youth experiencing cancer, Jessie created JoyJars which are 64oz plastic jars filled with hospital approved toys and games. Jessie was also the first one to coin the term NEGU (never ever give up), which was her motto and message. The 500 JoyJars were distributed to pediatric patients throughout Northern California.
Click here to watch the event recap video
.

November 20 was the Sharks official Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by
Kaiser Permanente
. Upon arrival, every fan received a lavender HFC shirsey presented by Kaiser Permanente. During warm-ups, players took the ice in custom
HFC jerseys which were auctioned to benefit
Cancer CAREpoint
. Players also used lavender tape-wrapped sticks which were later auctioned and generated a $5,000 donation for
Dec My Room
, a non-profit that transforms hospital rooms to create personalized healing places for kids during in-patient treatment.

The starting lineup was announced virtually by youth who are in the fight against cancer, while the entire SAP Center
was lit in lavender, the official color of HFC. Players, fans and staff joined together in a pre-game moment of silence for those who have fought or are currently battling the disease. During the game, the 50/50 Raffle raised $8,135 for
Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services
which will use the funds to provide emotional, practical, financial and peer support to children with cancer and their family members.

On the 20th, the Foundation also launched a HFC autographed shirsey auction that raised $3,500 for
Latinas Contra Cancer
, an organization that works to address the void in culturally and linguistically sensitive programs that meet the health care needs of Latinos around issues of cancer. The organization advocates for cancer prevention while simultaneously working to identify and remove the obstacles Latinos face when accessing cancer health education, prevention and care.
The 50/50 Raffle presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort beneficiary on November 22 was
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area
. The $3,555 raised will support their efforts to grant 267 life-changing wishes this year for children who are diagnosed with a critical illness. On November 24, the beneficiary was
There With Care of the Bay Area
; the $2,680 donation will support their wide range of fundamental services to families and children during the critical phase of a medical crisis by building a network of services and people to ease the burden of their day-to-day obligations. Then on the 26th,
Coastal Kids Home Care
received a $5,210 donation from the raffle which will support them in providing critical medical and mental health care services to roughly 900 individuals, including children fighting cancer.
In total, the Sharks dedicated $95,685 and impacted 4,630 lives during Hockey Fights Cancer Month presented by Kaiser Permanente.