Blue Jackets Foundation grants have big impact in community

Each year, the Columbus Blue Jackets Foundation provides grants to community organizations that support its four pillar areas of focus, including health and safety, education, pediatric cancer and the growth and development of youth hockey.

This year, the foundation announced the investment of $1.3 million to local charitable and youth hockey organizations last Monday evening at Nationwide Arena before the game vs. Detroit. This year's grants push the Foundation's cumulative support of youth health and wellness initiatives in Central Ohio to more than $14 million since its inception in 2000.

During a pregame reception presented by Jet’s Pizza featuring representatives of the grant partners, Blue Jackets corporate partners and members of the CBJ front office, the Blue Jackets Foundation recognized the 32 Central Ohio-based nonprofit organizations.

“On behalf of the Blue Jackets hockey operations, the players, the coaches and the staff, I’d like to thank you all for being here tonight,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen told attendees. “It’s an honor to be in the same room as you guys for such valuable work you do here in the community. Our new coach, Pascal Vincent, has talked about our vision quite a bit, a vision of excellence. I think we share that vision with the foundation as well.

“It starts with the standard – doing the right things, focus and dedication and all those things every single day, with every little detail both on and off the ice. We take pride in having that standard, and I know that the players take a lot of pride in doing things right off the ice as well as in the community.”

The Foundation raises funds all season long through game-night fundraisers such as 50/50 Raffle and Silent Auction, signature events like The CannonBall and Golf Classic, and generous support from corporate partners, players and The 5th Line. Funds raised from the season help support the grants awarded each season through the grant application process.

The following stories show the impact the grants can have for local community organizations. To learn more, read the 2022-23 Community Report, which showcases the incredible work in the community by the Blue Jackets organization both on and off the ice last season.

Girls Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland

For a year, the Girl Scouts did research on how to create a unique way to help girls in Central Ohio.

The answer the organization came up with, according to president and CEO Tammy Wharton? Constructing a low ropes course at the Camp Ken-Jockety STEM immersive campus, a multimillion-dollar project at the Girl Scouts’ day camp outside Columbus.

The course will be constructed with help from a $92,580 grant from the Blue Jackets Foundation that was generously supported by Columbia Gas.

“We wanted to do something different,” Wharton said. “Not only is this money going to help us create a low ropes course, but we are also able to do leadership elements on the ground as well as team building so that our girls can work to learn together and succeed.”

The low ropes course will allow girls to conduct exercises focused on problem-solving, team building, communication, building trust and more. While there are high ropes courses at such locations as Camp Mary Orton and at Hocking Hills, a low ropes course is typically just a few feet off the ground.

“I love to say that we teach girls how to fail, because fail means ‘first attempt in learning,’” Wharton said. “To see a girl do something she’s scared to do at first and then finally accomplish that challenge, it not only makes your heart sing, it teaches them that they can do anything.”

YMCA of Central Ohio

The Eldon & Elsie Ward Family YMCA is located on the Near East Side of Columbus, and a quick look at the map reveals it to be a heavily urban area without a lot of green space.

That is going to change by next fall, however, with the Blue Jackets Foundation’s grant of $150,000 to fund an all-abilities CBJ-themed playground. The impact will be that around 200,000 people on the Near East Side will soon have a community gathering space unlike anything currently in the neighborhood. 

“It’s a great opportunity to bring some green space to the youth we have in that community,” said Javonte McDonald, executive director of the Ward Family YMCA. “It becomes an access point for people to be able to have community events, community get-togethers and be able to build the types of relationships that are a positive for the community. It’s about opportunity and access.”

The Ward Family YMCA is the successor to the Spring Street YMCA, one of the first Y locations in the country to serve the Black community, with more than 100 years of service. The partnership with the Blue Jackets Foundation will not only allow the location to offer more services, it also opens doors that might not always seem that way in the Near East Side community. 

“We get a chance to not only work with a well-established organization, but we get a chance to introduce our youth to something they may not have had an interest in,” McDonald said. “They get a chance to be able to learn more about hockey and learn about things outside of their norm, and that always opens up more doors and opportunities for them.”

LSS CHOICES for Victims of Domestic Violence

Since 1977, LSS CHOICES has provided counseling, shelter, crisis intervention, education, and community and legal advocacy to Central Ohio residents facing domestic violence. In fact, LSS CHOICES is the only domestic violence shelter in Franklin County.

It’s clearly important work, and the impact of domestic violence ripples across a family. That’s why the Blue Jackets Foundation’s grant of $10,000, generously supported by College Advantage, will allow the shelter to provide new books in its library to more than 400 children.

“When children come here, we call them the smallest witnesses to domestic violence, and so our goal is to provide them opportunities for healing as well as activities while they are in shelters,” said Michele Cenci, vice president of mission advancement for the shelter. “This not only allows us to have resources for the children at the shelter, but it allows us to give them books to take home and help inspire healing in the future as well.”

The Blue Jackets Foundation has partnered with LSS CHOICES previously, including helping construct a team-themed playground at the shelter. Anything that can help kids during a traumatic time in their lives is important, and opportunities like the shelter playground and the library can serve as a critical coping mechanism for the children affected. 

“(These books) might seem small to some people, but it’s really big,” said Tracy Hill, family services manager at LSS CHOICES. “We never say anything is small. Anything can be a big step because it can give kids hope, and all the while the library encourages literacy and how important it is, too. It’s multifaceted.”