CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A group of former Islanders who moved to Calgary for work is working to make things better back home.
This week, the P.E.I. RumRunners, a 30-plus men’s hockey club, donated $60,000 to the P.E.I. chapter of the Children's Wish Foundation.
The cheque was presented at Red Shores’ racetrack in Charlottetown Monday night, as part of Old Home Week.
This was the latest charitable venture for the club since its formation in 2006.
Dennis Carmichael and Wayne Stewart were among the club’s founding members. They knew someone being supported by the Children’s Wish Foundation, so the club visited the organization's Alberta office and saw a large, cardboard cheque with $22,000 written on it.
“Well, we can beat that,” Carmichael said.
They converted their yearly golf get-together into a tournament, called the Charity Golf Classic, and ended up raising $40,000. Originally, they didn’t plan for it to be an annual fundraiser, but they’ve been doing it ever since.
They split the proceeds raised each year between the P.E.I. and Alberta chapters of Children’s Wish, which is where this year’s $60,000 came from. They also started holding the Home From Away Charity Golf Classic on P.E.I. in 2014.
This year’s Home From Away fundraiser took place at Stanhope Golf and Country Club Aug. 13. The RumRunners never see any of the funds raised from their events, and they cover the raw expenses, Carmichael said.
“So that the funds raised go to the charities.”
“We buy our own beer,” Stewart added, laughing.
Since starting, the club has raised about $1.49 million for Children’s Wish. They don’t always get to see the product of their donations, but they usually invite a family or individual being supported by Children’s Wish to attend their fundraisers and share about their experiences, Stewart said.
“If you want to see a room of men cry, just show up at one of those speeches.”
The Children’s Wish Foundation was unable to provide anyone for an interview for this story, but a media release from the organization says the average cost of granting a child’s wish is $10,000.
