A year ago, Nick Davalos walked into a doctor’s office wearing his Kraken hat. He was seeing a breast cancer specialist and clearly thinking all sorts of thoughts about his diagnosis, both, of course, the health threat of cancer plus the inevitable questions he would be fielding (less than one percent of breast cancer patients are men).
“I walked into my doctor’s office, and she said, ‘Oh, you like sports?’ Well, I’ve got a guy you need to meet,” said Davalos Wednesday this week at Kraken Community Iceplex.
That guy, Marlyn Kraft, was sitting in the Kraken player's lounge with Davalos as his guest at the Kraken Unity Fund’s “Hero of the Deep” capstone celebration. The summer event and skating party brought together last season’s “Heroes,” who are all making a difference in lives throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Last January, during the first period of a home game against Toronto, Kraft was that night’s Hero of the Deep, honored for the work he does on behalf of the American Cancer Society. As a breast cancer patient diagnosed in 2009 and now in remission, Kraft provides rides for cancer patients needing transportation and supportive conversation heading to appointments and treatments. His work grew out of a personal vow to first help other men as a volunteer counselor for ACS, then donating his time and driving skills as part of the ACS “Road to Recovery” rides program.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done [as a volunteer] because you get so much back,” said the 74-year-old Tacoma resident. “All of the [patients] are so expressive. Some of them get in the car sort of nasty or mad [about their diagnoses and fatiguing treatments]. When I tell them my story and encourage them, they end up saying, ‘thank you, you don’t know how much this means to me.’ ”
Aiming to Unite Our Community
The Kraken Unity Fund and Hero of the Deep program launched in October 2022 with the start of the Kraken’s second season to recognize “inspiring individuals who are doing outstanding work to transform lives, enable resiliency and uplift and unite our community across the Pacific Northwest.” With financial backing from the team’s ownership group led by David Bonderman and Samantha Holloway, the fund was created by One Roof Foundation, the Kraken and in partnership with Starbucks.
Midway through the first period of every home game, the Kraken announces a new “Hero” individual or organization, with One Roof Foundation arranging to donate $32,000 to the hero’s choice of the receiving nonprofit organization. Last season, $1.3 million was awarded to the honorees’ choice of nonprofit.
Drilling for Leadership
Other honorees on hand Wednesday were several leaders from The Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, which is an intentional nonprofit for young Asian American girls that was first established in 1952.
“We foster leadership skills and friendships,” said Isabelle Gonn, director of the drill team collective. “The organization was established because there was a group of girls at Garfield High School who didn't have a place to go after school. In Chinese culture back in the 1950s, parents didn't usually let the girls outside of their homes [after school]. The boys always had activities to do; the girls did not.”
Enter Chinese-American restaurateur and Seattle politician Ruby Chow: “The Garfield girls wanted to do more, so they went to Ruby Chow to ask if she would sponsor them,” said Gonn, who was part of the drill team for six years during her youth.
The team participates in “military-style marching that teaches discipline and how to be a team player,” said Gonn. The drill team performs around the Pacific Northwest, including an upcoming appearance at MoPop this fall (the girls will enjoy a field trip there this weekend). The “Hero” award surprised Gonn and her colleagues.
“My gosh, what a reception at the game [Feb. 19 vs. Detroit],” said Gonn, smiling. “We had no idea that was going to happen. All of the money went to the team for transportation, food costs and other operational costs we have. We're totally honored ... we’re an all-volunteer organization. It gave us a sense of, hey, we're doing something great for the community.”
How the $32,000 Can Make a Distinct Difference
For many organizations, the $32,000 award has a distinct and valuable purpose (the sum that nods to the 32,000 ticket depositors back on March 1, 2018, that profoundly convinced the National Hockey League to award the franchise to Seattle). That’s because many nonprofits are sustained by public grant funds that put parameters and certain restrictions on how money can be spent. The Hero of the Deep funds can be used as the nonprofit recipient organization sees fit.
“I love that question,” said William Towey, executive director of Lake City Partners, a “Hero of the Deep” beneficiary with a mission to end homelessness in North Seattle by providing shelter and support services to help individuals in need connect to other organizations and government agencies that can lead to stabilization, recovery and permanent housing. “One of the most important things for an organization like ourselves is unrestricted grant funding. Most of our funding comes in the form of cost-reimbursement contracts that are very specific about what you can and can't spend your money on.”
The Kraken Unity Fund awarded trusted Lake City Partners to spend the money as most urgently needed, which turned out to be using Lyft services to give the homeless rides to shelters and other services. The suddenly available option proved significantly more cost-effective and solution-successful than “figuring out how to do nonprofit vans,” said Towey.
“The funds are helping us get folks to a place where they can be housed,” said Towey. “Others might need to seek medical facilities or visit government agencies to get paperwork in order to get a social security card.”
Cycling Youth Empowerment – and Joy
For Rich Brown, honored at the Jan. 24 game against Chicago, his BikeWorks nonprofit is all about literally and figuratively transporting disadvantaged youth to a better place via bicycling. He loves what he does and changes lives with every summer camp weeks or extended road tours with young riders or sessions teaching youth how to repair and maintain bikes.
Brown has been at it since 1996 with the mission to “promote the bicycle as a vehicle for change to empower youth and build resilient communities” and “make bicycling accessible and affordable to the Seattle community.” One more not-to-overlook outcome: His nonprofit bike shop is keeping thousands of bikes from ending up in landfill.
It all makes Brown feel valued, but Wednesday night, he reflected on how the Kraken Unity Fund amplified his positive outlook.
“When I get thank you’s from young people, it makes me happy for my efforts,” said Brown, who was later spotted gamely testing out his skating skills in a fashion that might be compared to his newbie pupils balancing on two wheels for the first time. “But this particular honor, with my mom coming into town [from California], the Kraken and the One Roof Foundation really made it happen for us [including providing Mom with a walker and wheelchair at the game]. It's now why you do the work, but it does bring a level of joy. It was a great feeling that night.”
