Members of Concordia Stingers women’s hockey program decided being part of a team should mean more than scoring goals and taping sticks, so they added a new twist to their annual Theresa Humes tournament.
Before they played their first game at the long-running, Concordia-hosted competition on Friday, nine players went to the NDG Food Depot on Marlowe Ave. – about three kilometres from the arena – and spent the morning volunteering.
The Stingers helped prepare food baskets, sorted donations and prepared mailouts.
“We thought it was important to do community outreach, especially in our neighborhood,” said assistant captain Jaymee Shell. “We thought it was time to give back to our community and the NDG Food Depot is a good fit for us.”
The NDG Food Depot is a community-based non-profit organization that works collaboratively with other community partners to address issues of food security in NDG and the surrounding areas.
“All of us had a good time,” Shell said. “We enjoyed meeting the people there. A lot of them noticed our team jerseys and asked about us. It felt good to be involved in something that has an immediate impact on people.
“We hope to be able to continue with more community work.”
The Stingers were edged out 3-2 by the York Lions on the first day of the 46th annual tournament. They are scheduled to meet the St. Thomas Tommies on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the Queen’s Gaels on Sunday at 4 p.m.
