Half of the team volunteered at the Market location in Grove City, where those in need go through a grocery store experience to pick the foods they want, while the rest of the squad went to MOFC headquarters up the street to sort pasta that will be distributed in the community.
By the time the day was done, the Blue Jackets players accomplished quite a bit. More than 80 families were served in the hour the team spent at the market, while almost 1,000 pounds of pasta were repackaged at the food bank.
Left uncounted but certainly appreciated were the smiles and greetings shared by the Blue Jackets and the customers at the market.
“I can’t decide who’s having more fun – the customers or the players,” said Rebecca Peacock-Creagh, manager of the Mid-Ohio Market at Gantz Road. “I was so excited to see how excited they were just to have the players here. I think it made the holiday season for many of them.”
For Werenski, the day was made moments after he first arrived when he was greeted by Blue Jackets fan Gloria Ramirez. A diehard supporter of the team for the past two decades, Ramirez was over the moon to meet Werenski, who followed Ramirez and her husband around the location to help complete their shopping.
“She reminded me of my grandmother a little bit, to be honest – just super inviting, super warm,” Werenski said. “You could tell she’s very genuine; both of them are. Just to walk around the store for 10, 15, 20 minutes with them and hear their story, hear about their grandkids, I think it was great.”
Afterward, the defenseman acknowledged the importance of giving back on a day like Player Day of Service.
“I feel like a lot times, we get wrapped up in our own world of hockey and what’s going on in the room and on the ice, and rightfully so – that's what we do,” Werenski said. “But then when you take a step back for an hour, come out here, see people, see how happy they are, see how positive they are in times where they are struggling a little bit and need some help, I think it goes a long way for our team. It’s good for guys to see that.”
That’s especially true at the holiday season as many are looking for a little extra help. Prices have risen at grocery stores across the country and in Central Ohio, leading to increased demand at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, which provides more than 170,000 meals per day in its coverage area.
Sillinger said he stops at the store each day on the way home to purchase food for a nutritious meal after practice and notices when prices are rising. As such, he wasn’t surprised to see how busy things were at the Mid-Ohio Market.
“You look at the food that people are checking out, it’s chicken, potatoes, berries, bananas – everything that is in my diet on a daily basis,” he said. “So having this place for people is amazing, and just that little extra help takes a lot of stress out of peoples’ lives and puts food in their bellies and gives people energy so they can go attack their days.”
Peacock-Creagh said the Blue Jackets players in attendance were more than welcoming to those that they helped. While they were there, the market saw an increased total of customers, going from an average of around 60 customers per hour to 80, an important piece of service in the holiday season.
“That is absolutely amazing,” Peacock-Creagh said. “And because they were here today, those 80 families are going to have food on their table tonight that may not have had it had they not been here. We’ve been short on volunteers. It’s a busy holiday season, but thanks to (the players). They’ve really served the community well.”
