Borowiecki Thrilled to Make Face-to-Face Impacts in Nashville Community

Eight months after Mark Borowiecki signed with the Predators, the rugged blueliner just had one of his best days in Nashville yet.
Known for his charitable work in the community, the former Ottawa Senators defenseman had been unable to deliver that same passion to his new city due to the pandemic and COVID protocols throughout the 2020-21 NHL season.
On Monday, however, Borowiecki finally got the chance to get out and give back.

With help from the Nashville Predators Foundation empowered by SmileDirectClub, Borowiecki presented two checks - one to the Nashville LGBT Chamber and another to the Oasis Center's "Just Us" Program - each totaling $2,000 toward causes he and his wife, Tara, hold in high regard.
"I think I underestimated how much I missed this," Borowiecki said of meeting with charitable organizations face-to-face. "This was a challenging year for me personally as a professional, and a challenging year for millions of families on so many different levels. As an athlete, getting to do this today kind of signifies that return to a bit of normalcy. Tara and I, we take a lot of pride in being part of a community, and not being able to do that this year, it was tough, it was challenging, so I'm super thankful to have this opportunity to be here today."

The afternoon began on the Bridgestone Arena plaza as Borowiecki and members of the Predators front office surprised Nashville LGBT Chamber CEO Joe Woolley with not only a check, but also a strong showing of support.
The LGBT Chamber's mission
is to advance common business interests, economic growth and equality in the workplace and society for its LGBT members, businesses, and allies by providing educational, networking and community building opportunities, and Woolley knows he can count on the Preds to stand up for that mantra.
"I'm emotional because I didn't think the Predators or a Nashville organization could do more, and then you guys keep setting the bar so high," Woolley said, his eyes welling. "From the top down, the Predators believe in this, that everybody is welcome, that hockey is for everybody. You guys just keep reinforcing that and keep pushing diversity and inclusion and acceptance more and more."
Borowiecki,
who recently penned his own piece on supporting the LGBTQ+ community
, stands firmly as an ally, and the defenseman's essay gives Woolley hope for the future.
"What he wrote is so important right now," Woolley said of Borowiecki's article. "To see role models, to see examples, to see allies speaking out, and what he said about love and acceptance, that's at the heart of pride. That's what pride is all about… We still have a lot of work to do, and it's people like him and organizations like the Predators and these types of statements that will continue to push LGBT equality issues forward and keep building on the incredible history and accomplishments that we've made. But again, we still have a lot of work to do, and it's just great to see an ally like the Predators standing with Nashville LGBT equality."

Following the presentation downtown, Borowiecki headed to the Oasis Center to deliver another check and learn more about the programs there, particularly the organization's Bike Workshop.
Oasis Center provides a wide range of opportunities
that reflect the diverse needs of youth and their families, from crisis intervention to youth leadership and community engagement to college and career access. The Bike Workshop provides one of those opportunities, allowing youth to participate in workshops for six-to-eight weeks to build their own custom bikes from the frame up.
Recently, the Bike Workshop has worked closely with Metro Parks to open a bike track in Watkins Park just north of the Oasis Center offices. A bike rider himself, Borowiecki met with Bike Workshop overseer Dan Furbish and expressed his desire to build on a relationship with the organization and fulfill the desire to make a difference in the community once more.
"It's almost selfish a little bit because the emotional response to doing this, it's so fulfilling for me," Borowiecki said. "I feel like I'm taking more than I'm giving… But I'm pretty fortunate to have the resources as a professional athlete to be able to do this, and there's just something very raw about making these connections and doing this. Tara and I are really excited to work more at this in the future now that things are kind of returning to normal.
"These are all things that are very important to Tara and I. You start making these connections now and meeting all these amazing people in this community, people who we knew were here and we knew we would meet eventually, and now to get the chance to connect with all these amazing groups, and then support them is amazing. To actually be face-to-face with them, to actually make that connection, that personal connection, it's really, really special."