Upwards of 500 pounds of hockey equipment was donated to a Nunavut community. (Spencer Sterritt/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Spencer Sterritt

good deed

500 pounds of hockey gear donated from Nanaimo community

Apr 29, 2021 | 12:18 PM

NANAIMO — Hockey teams and community groups across Nanaimo have banded together to help people in need half a country away.

Upwards of 500 pounds of hockey equipment was donated from teams such as the VIU Mariners and Oceanside Generals. The equipment will be shipped to Cape Dorset, Nunavut, where former Mariner Josh Cook is now an RCMP Constable.

Mariner manager Myles Parsons told NanaimoNewsNOW the donation drive started with a casual conversation he had with Cook.

“He mentioned an eight-year-old boy had asked to borrow his skates, so I asked if there was anything we could do. He said he could use anything we could send.”

The massive amount of equipment and $1,200 in cash was donated in only a few weeks.

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“It’s a community effort and we’re really overwhelmed with how much response we got just from saying ‘Hey, can you help out?'” Parsons said.

Adam Morton, a current player with the VIU Mariners, said it shows how crucial to a community hockey is.

“We’re hoping to give a whole bunch of kids who haven’t had the opportunity to play, that opportunity so they can enjoy the fun I’ve had, that my teammates have had, growing up playing a sport we love.”

Donations of equipment and money are still being accepted before they’re flown up to Cape Dorset.

Parsons can be reached for donations at (250) 713-9398.

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spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt