4Ever Wild: HopeKids

There are few things more challenging than watching a child deal with a life-threatening illness. Any event or outing, no matter how big or small, that can alleviate some of the strain and sadness associated with such a heartbreaking situation is often a very welcomed distraction.
That's what HopeKids aims to do with its Minnesota Wild suite.
"We say hope is a powerful medicine, so that hope is what gets families through their hospital stays or those needle pokes or whatever is on their calendar that is not so fun," explained Brian Anderson, HopeKids executive director. "I was just reading an email from someone who has been in the hospital for a week, and knowing that they were going to a Wild game with other families who understand what they're going through gets them through it.

"We always want to give families something to look forward to and bring them together in a safe and accepting environment for free. The Wild and Xcel Energy Center hits that goal on all cylinders."
HopeKids, one of five chapters in the United States, has a mission to serve families with a child who has a life-threatening illness by providing ongoing events and activities. In 2015, the organization was approached by Tradition Companies and Robert Thomas with a large amount of funds raised for them to do with as they pleased. They purchased the Wild suite in January of 2016 and have been filling it with families ever since.
Anderson said there are countless stories from families who have mentioned how much it means to them to have the Wild suite opportunity as an outlet to not only escape the hospitals and wires, but interact with families going through the same things. Plus, they get to interact with some notable names, as well.
Wild mascot "Nordy has become a great friend of HopeKids in a lot of ways," Anderson said with a smile. "He visits the suite, he comes to our fundraising walk each year. And we've had Wild players host skating events or come up and visit in the suite. We've had players cater food in our suite and we've been featured on the big screen. We've gone to the locker room to see the players, and there's just this special connection that goes one step farther to make these kids and families feel as special as they are."
Anderson notes that since 2016, 642 different families from HopeKids have attended a Wild game in the suite.
"We have 1,400 families, so almost half have been in suite," he said. "Our goal, of course, is to get everybody, but to have made that impact and for the Wild to have made that impact on that many families is really great, and we couldn't be more appreciative of them and all that they have done for us."