Three Ways that Ed Snider's Legacy is Immortal

Flyers co-founder and longtime chairman Ed Snider passed away at age 83 on April 11, 2016. His legacy lives on, however, in ways that touch people's lives on a daily basis. Here are three examples, both hockey-related and in ways that impact the entire community.

1. Snider Hockey

The legacy project in which Snider took the greatest sense of pride and personal commitment was the creation and perpetual financial caretaking of Ed Snider Youth Hockey and Education. Founded in 2006, the program has grown by leaps and bounds in its nearly 19 years of existence.

Providing young people with access and opportunities to play hockey is the hook by which program participants get involved. The ultimate goal, however, is to help prepare the participants to succeed in life itself: scholastically, socially and in terms of feeling a sense of commitment, personal realization and fulfillment that lasts well beyond what is taught on the ice.

"This is how I want people to remember me . . . this is what I want to be my legacy. What we’re doing for kids. I’m more proud of this than anything else I’ve done in my life," Snider said.

The impact of Snider Hockey and Education is best told within the tapestry of human stories and not in statistical data.

Nevertheless, to measure the extent of the impact, it's helpful to look at some comparative data. These two facts jump out in showing the bottom line results that Snider Hockey and Education programs have achieved.

1. The overall four-year high school graduation rate in Philadelphia is reported to be 75%, but this rate falls to just 56% of designated "off track” ninth graders who largely come from the at-risk and/or under-resourced communities that Snider Hockey primarily serves. By comparison, 99 percent of Snider program student-athletes graduate high school on time.

2. Postsecondary education: On average, 48% of Philadelphia high school graduates enrolled in postsecondary education the following fall. By comparison, 75% of Snider graduates enroll in postsecondary educational programs and also have significantly higher completion rates.

Snider Hockey and Education steeps itself and constantly emphasizes six core values: accountability, teamwork, excellence, opportunity, inclusiveness, and integrity. These apply equally to the sport of hockey, the classroom environment and daily life.

2. The Snider Foundation

The Snider Foundation is not as well-publicized as Snider Hockey and Education but this family-created funding grant entity provides crucial support to programs, organizations and causes that were near and dear to Ed Snider's heart.

One prominent example: The Flyers Alumni Association. In their 40-year existence, the Flyers Alumni have developed a variety of fundraising avenues as the backbone of their mission statement of giving back to the Delaware Valley community. Meanwhile, an annual operational support grant from the Snider Foundation lends a key assist to this goal.

The Flyers Alumni also work closely in conjunction with Snider Hockey because they share many of the same principles in their respective mission statements.

"Mr. Snider brought so much to our lives and careers in Philadelphia. Our way of saying thank you is by giving back in return and striving to follow the example he set," Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh said.

3. Flyers Charities and Community

It's par for the course in today's NHL for organizations to have a charitable fundraising and giving element as well as programs (such as the NHL-wide Learn to Play initiative) designed to serve the local community. However, the Flyers were among the first NHL organizations to create such an aspect as part of its year-round structure.

This has taken on different forms through the years. In the beginning, Ed Snider and his first wife, Flyers organization matriarch Myrna Snider, provided unwavering support for the Flyers Wives in the foundation and growth of what became the annual Carnival.

Today, Flyers Charities (which was merged and streamlined a few years ago with the Community department) manages the Carnival and a host of other initiatives designed to better the lives of people in the Delaware Valley communities.

For an in-depth look at Flyers Charities programs, fundraising avenues and direct community impact -- all steed in and expanded upon the foundational legacies of Ed Snider, Myrna, and the Flyers Wives -- click here.

At its core, Flyers Charities and community staff work tirelessly to create strong eliminate financial barriers and revive play spaces to grow the game of hockey and aid local families affected by cancer throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.

Dovetailing with these functions are the close relationship that the Flyers Alumni and Flyers Community have in supporting the Flyers Warriors (veterans), Flyers PowerPlay (power wheelchair hockey) and Flyers Special Hockey (special needs youth) programs as officially recognized organization affiliates.

Although independently managed -- the Flyers Warriors have their own board of directors, for example -- these programs work closely with Rob Baer, Marsh, Bob Kelly and youth and amateur hockey programs aspects of the community segment within the overarching Flyers Charities. Meanwhile, management of the Flyers Learn to Play program and the annual Quebec Pee-Wee tournament team also fall within the Youth and Amateur Hockey auspices.