November Recap: Hockey Fights Cancer Month Presented by Kaiser Permanente

November is
Hockey Fights Cancer™
(HFC) Month across the NHL with each of the 32 clubs hosting their own HFC Night. Founded in 1998 by the
National Hockey League
and the NHL Players' Association, Hockey Fights Cancer unites the hockey community in support of cancer patients and their families. The initiative gets assistance from players, coaches, officials, equipment managers, front office staff, corporate partners, and fans. Together, the hockey family looks to inspire hope and courage for those who are living with, going through, and moving past cancer.

To kick off the Sharks Hockey Fights Cancer Month presented by
Kaiser Permanente
, the Sharks Foundation sold lavender t-shirts to raise funds for
Kids & Art Foundation
. The $1,800 net proceeds raised will help the non-profit support hands-on creative experiences for 72 pediatric patients and their families in local hospitals and treatment centers.

On November 5, Sharks Territory celebrated Hispanic Heritage Night presented by
Milagro Tequila
at SAP Center! During warm-ups, Sharks players wore unique Los Tiburones warm-up jerseys that were auctioned by the
Sharks Foundation
from November 5-7. The design of these jerseys was created by local artist,
Jorge "J. Duh" Camacho
who was inspired by his Central American Heritage as well as his love for the Sharks and San Jose. A $15,200 donation generated from auction proceeds benefited
Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley
and their dedication to empower the lives of Latinos through community philanthropy, investment in education, and leadership development. Also that evening, the beneficiary of the
50/50 Raffle
presented by
Cache Creek Casino Resort
was
Latinas Contra Cancer
to tie in both the theme of the night and the November HFC campaign. The non-profit received a $4,705 donation to support their mission to address the void in culturally and linguistically sensitive programs that meet the health care needs of Latinos around issues of cancer.
On November 6, the Sharks hosted their
5th annual Special Olympics floor hockey game
in partnership with
Del Grande Dealer Group.
The event took place at Bellarmine College Prep where
Special Olympics Northern California
(SONC) athletes and Sharks players including Timo Meier, Logan Couture, Matt Nieto, Steven Lorentz, and Nico Sturm, participated in a unified scrimmage. The Sharks Foundation and DGDG granted SONC a $10,000 donation that will be used to impact 600 athletes' lives to continue their journey in sports. Special Olympics athlete and board member Justin Steinberg wrote, "I loved how they really made it feel like a Sharks game, having the athletes run through the Shark Head and having the announcers calling the action. Thank you, San Jose Sharks, for your partnership with Special Olympics Northern California! It's always great being able to play with some incredible hockey players."

On November 9, the Sharks Foundation and Kaiser Permanente provided a $20,000
Community Assist Grant
to non-profit
Teen Kitchen Project
(TKP). The funding provided more than 1,500 meals leading up to, or on, Thanksgiving Day, to 110 senior citizens with cancer living in Santa Cruz County. In addition, members of Team Teal spent the day in Aptos packaging meals, baking cookies, and handwriting 150 care cards for the seniors. One TKP client said, "The meals were a real life saver - I mean my life was already saved when I was in the hospital, but when I got out these meals really kept me going." Click
here
to watch a video recapping the event.

Non-profit
Dec My Room
(DMR) works to enhance the lives of, and bring joy to, critically ill children who are hospitalized for long stays by decorating their room with individual, personalized touches for each child. On November 12, the Sharks Foundation's
Young Professionals Board
(YPB) joined DMR to perform their annual winter service event. The YPB was provided shopping lists to gather supplies to decorate four rooms with themes such as superhero and boho beach. To watch a recap of the event, click
here
. On November 19, Dec My Room served as the beneficiary of the 50/50 Raffle presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort. The $7,365 generated through the raffle will sponsor 23 of their planned 80 rooms next year.

On November 17, the Sharks hosted their official Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by Kaiser Permanente. Every fan in attendance of the game received a lavender rally towel which was used for a celebratory moment to honor those impacted by cancer. During warm-ups, Sharks players wore white and lavender HFC jerseys that were auctioned by the Sharks Foundation from November 16-18 and generated a $12,960 donation to
Cancer CAREpoint.
The funds will impact 115 lives through support for cancer patients and survivors, their families, and caregivers in Silicon Valley through various personalized resources. Additionally, some players wrapped their sticks with lavender tape and those sticks were included in the Sharks Foundation's November 25-27 auction, providing the beneficiary,
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area
, with a $5,000 donation to help grant the wish of a critically ill child.

Also that evening, the 50/50 Raffle presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort benefited the
American Cancer Society's
(ACS)
ResearcHERS
program. This initiative shines a light on the incredible discoveries made by women and empowers female leaders to support ACS's national research program which funds some of the brightest minds in cancer research. The raffle offered special pricing of 98 tickets for $40 in honor of the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative's 1998 inception and raised $6,145 for the non-profit.
Pre-game, five youth being treated at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara for various forms of pediatric cancer were recognized as they joined the Sharks starting line-up on the blueline.

Nine-year-old Layla Malone, daughter of Sharks Director of Business Intelligence Tim Malone, dropped the ceremonial puck in honor of her battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). On September 1, 2020, Layla was diagnosed with ALL at the age of seven. Thanks to the support of many, and in conjunction with the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
, Layla has raised more than $6,000 to go toward lifesaving pediatric cancer research and family support services. Layla received her last doses of chemo from Kaiser Permanente on November 9 and formally rang the bell on November 21! Layla was joined for the puck drop by Tim, her mom Joy, her brother Mason, and little sister Camryn.

The Sharks also hosted nine-year-old Alexander who was diagnosed with Stage 3 B-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma on May 28, 2021. This type of cancer affects 40 kids per year in the United States and Alexander's treatment at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara is estimated to take 2.5 years with an anticipated end date of October 2023. While he continues treatment and receives services from
JW House
, he has been medically cleared to go back to school in person as a fourth grader, a big milestone as he has not been in the classroom since first grade due to Covid and cancer. Despite the intense and frequent treatments involved with his battle, Alexander remains strong, brave, funny, and resilient. On HFC Night, he participated in the
NHLOA Zebras Care program
where he met with the referees pre-game, and also got to ride the Zamboni during the 2nd Intermission.

To wrap up the night, pediatric cancer patients and their guests participated in a meet-and-greet with the players after the game.

On November 19, Bay Area sports teams united as Sharks players wore 49ers-themed jerseys during warm-ups. The mash-up jerseys were auctioned from November 19-21 by the Sharks Foundation and raised $20,000 for
One Life Counseling Center
to support their vision to empower community members to live a purposeful and inspired life by providing easy access to services they need.

Also on the 19th, fans were able to purchase the second of the Player Card Series which featured #36 Kaapo Kähkönen and, once again, sold out fast! A select number of cards were autographed by Kähkönen, while select others contained a golden ticket for unique Sharks bonus prizes. In-line with the campaign month, prizes included items like a team signed "I Fight For" Card, and Kähkönen's lavender tape-wrapped stick from HFC Night. The next set will feature Thomas Bordeleau and be sold on December 20 at the Sharks Foundation Booth outside Section 118.

On November 21, the Sharks Foundation started selling 2023 calendars featuring Sharks players and new
Sharks Pup Gill
! Calendars are available on game nights at the Sharks Foundation Booth outside Section 118 and
online
at SharksProShop.com.

Continuing to align with the month's campaign, the Sharks Foundation partnered with additional cancer-related non-profits as beneficiaries for the 50/50 Raffle presented by Cache Creek Casino Resort. On November 25,
There With Care of the Bay Area
received $8,650 which will allow them to provide 123 families with a member being treated for cancer with both a $20 cafeteria voucher and a $50 gas gift card. On November 27, the beneficiary was
Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services
. The $3,135 donation they received will support 188 children receiving chemotherapy treatments.
In addition, long-time Sharks Foundation supporters John and Cindy Cook provided funding for three additional grants to support cancer-related non-profits. Cindy is a cancer survivor and dropped the ceremonial puck at the Sharks
HFC Game in 2018
. Thanks to the Cooks' generosity, the Sharks Foundation was able to make $5,000 donations to
Okizu
,
Coastal Kids Home Care
and the
Jessie Rees Foundation
.
In total, the Sharks Foundation dedicated $119,960 and impacted nearly 4,000 lives during Hockey Fights Cancer Month presented by Kaiser Permanente.