Harwood hockey teams resume Community Awareness Games Feb. 12, 19
Feb. 4, 2022 | By Waterbury Roundabout 
In 2019, members of the Harwood Boys Hockey team presented Linda Parks from the Waterbury Area Food Shelf with cash donations totaling over $1,000 and 15 bags of food following the Community Awareness Game to spotlight the Waterbury and Mad River Valley food shelves. Left to right: Ollie Hammond, Linda Parks, Jacob Wells, Sean Russell. Photo by Brain Larrabee
Harwood Boys and Girls Varsity Hockey is bringing back the Annual Community Awareness Games Feb. 12 and 19.
After taking 2021 off due to COVID-19 the programs will resume tradition that started in 2016 with a game to bring awareness to organ donation in honor of beloved Crossett Brook Middle School teacher Mandy Drake Morse and Crossett Brook student Taber Merchant.
Merchant passed away at age 11 in 2011 and Drake Morse died in 2015 at age 47.
Since then, Harwood Varsity Hockey teams have designated a special night every year to honor an organization in our community by inviting members of the organization to a home game.
Players wear special custom jerseys for the games and the organizations have information on resources about their work at the rink. Girls and boys teams have recognized organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Hannah's House, the Vermont National Guard Family Readiness Program, Camp Ta-Kum-Ta and the Waterbury Area Food Shelf and Mad River Valley Food Shelf.
While this year will be a little different with spectator restrictions, the student athletes are committed to the tradition and giving back to the community. Harwood Athletic Director Chris Langevin also is looking to arrange for free live stream coverage. Details on that to come closer to the games if possible.
This year’s games coming up Feb. 12 and 19 are:
Saturday, Feb. 12, 3 p.m.: Girls Varsity Hockey Community Awareness Game at home at the Ice Center vs. Hartford in honor of Freezing Fun for Families.
Saturday, Feb. 19, 3 p.m.: Boys Varsity Hockey Community Awareness Game vs. St. Johnsbury Academy in honor of The Mahana Magic Foundation.
Wearing “Harwood Heroes & Families” jerseys, Harwood Boys Hockey players in 2018 present a thank you card to Vermont National Guard State Family Program Coordinator Miriam Boyle at a Community Awareness Game. Left to right are team captains Colin Green, Eriks Zeidins and Hunter Wimble. Courtesy photo
The mission of Freezing Fun For Families is to help alleviate stress and financial hardships for families battling childhood cancer. More information is online at freezingfunforfamilies.com.
The mission of The Mahana Magic Foundation is to provide support to children during and after their parent’s or caregiver’s experience with cancer by offering opportunities to build confidence and lessen fears. More information can be found online at mahanamagic.org.
Harwood Varsity Hockey’s mission is giving back by honoring and bringing awareness to local organizations that provide support in our communities. Any spectators or hockey lovers wishing to donate to the organizations highlighted by the games should donate directly to the organization.
Parent organizer Angela Wells said the goal of the games is to raise the profile of the nonprofit organizations in the community. “We want to thank them for all they do and hopefully help them make connections with someone who would benefit from their services,” she said. Researching the organizations and meeting people from them, in turn, gives the student-athletes an opportunity to share their love of hockey while learning about service organizations and practicing “thinking outside yourself,” Wells said.
Along the way, it’s an extra benefit if the games inspire community members to contribute. In 2020, for example, the boys Awareness Game sparked just under $2,300 for the American Cancer Society’s Strides Against Breast Cancer program.
Langevin said Harwood teams in years before the pandemic also have taken part in a number of direct fundraising efforts for local charities. During the 2019-20 season, for example, basketball, hockey and gymnastics teams raised a combined total of $6,854 that was divided among the American Cancer Society, Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, and the Susan G. Koman Foundation, Langevin said.
This year with attendance limited, fewer such efforts are happening. Langevin pointed to one recent example last month when the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials marked its Officials vs. Cancer Week. The refs wear pink referee shirts, use pink whistles, and donate their game fees to cancer-focused organizations such as UVM Cancer Center and Camp Ta-Kum-Ta. The Harwood boys and girls teams supported that cause by donating a total of $472 from one game each, Langevin said.