Ethan Allard Memorial Hockey Fund brings in $47,988.40 for community
While people always leave an impact when they are gone, Ethan Allard’s impact is greater than most.
He was killed in a construction accident in 2017 when he was just 24 years old. His family decided to honour him by creating the Ethan Allard Memorial Hockey Fund (EAHF), lead by its third annual fundraising tournament held in Petawawa from Feb. 14 to 16.
The event combines Allard’s two greatest passions: hockey and helping people, especially children.
“You never get poor by giving” was his favourite saying, and it is a philosophy that he lived his life by. In addition to his enthusiasm for helping others, he was also known for his generosity, kindness, joie de vivre, his love for his parents and 12 siblings, God and his community.
His death may have left a void in the Allard family, but his spirit inspired them to turn their pain into a positive.
“When we get together as a community, we can really feel his spirit, his presence,” said Allard’s sister Holly Allard, who is the tournament’s co-chair. “With that, it helps us heal and helps us stay close. By carrying this on, we all felt that Ethan is still here and his spirit is still alive.”
This tournament is not only a tribute, it also helps other young people within the community.
In 2020, the three-day tournament raised a total of $47,988.40 to be donated to both the Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart program and the Pembroke Petawawa District Community Foundation (PPDCF).
“We’ve been blown away,” said Holly, adding everywhere they turned, organizations, businesses and individuals offered their support, prizes and donations.
“This is from all the generosity from the people who care about each other,”noted Linda Allard, Ethan’s mother. “We get to become part of each other’s extended family, and this is what this community is all about.”
A $24,000 cheque for Jumpstart was presented at the start of the tournament. Half of it was raised at the local level and then matched at the corporate level.
“This is great, it means that we are giving more kids an opportunity to play and be active for life,” said ” said Cam Whalen, Regional Manager East and Near North Ontario for Jumpstart. “We are trying to create a Canada where kids can feel free to play and find something they are good at and continuing on that until they are into adulthood.”
The donation allows Jumpstart to cover the cost of equipment and registration fees so that no child will be barred from playing sports due to a lack of funding. In the county last year, Jumpstart helped over 800 children achieve their sporting dreams.
Also by joining forces with the PPDCF, the EAHF will be able to reach even further into the community to help those in need, said Linda.
“We are finding that there are more opportunities to give,” she said.
Though it was a fundraiser, it was still a tournament that saw some friendly rivalry on the ice. Sixteen teams competed, and many more had to be turned away due to the size of the arena.
“We had a waitlist from last year,” said Holly. “We had people messaging, emailing the Ethan Allard Memorial Fund Facebook page, the day after the tournament was done.”
The winning teams for this year were the Petawawa Indians for the Open Division, Bennett Electric for Rec A, the Blackbears for Rec B and Pik Fuels for the Female Division.
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