Save the Ukrainian hockey dream. How the Ukrainian Hockey Dream Charitable Foundation works

The Foundation is headed by FHU President Georgy Zubko, and there is also an honorary council consisting of leaders of the world hockey community and related industries. These specialists can be called ambassadors of the fund. “It is very important for us that these people help in the implementation of our tasks,” Georgy Zubko begins the story of the honorary council. “Currently, Gord Miller is the top board member in North America. We are also considering options for including famous NHL hockey players on the board, conversations are already underway, and it is important that this person is ready to help realize our goals.

Since its inception, the foundation team has managed to convey many stories of children whose houses were lost twice: first, the native walls of the house, and then the places where the children spent most of their time – ice arenas. These stories were heard: in their social networks, the NHL called for donations to the fund, the Finnish Ice Hockey Federation donated 142,815 euros, famous athletes, clubs, leagues, sports journalists support and agitate to support the fund of others, because you need to save the Ukrainian hockey dream in order to Ukrainian children had a hockey future.

“We communicate with all representatives of the hockey world, with all federations, leagues and commercial partners of hockey in the world. The NHL is one of the centers of world hockey, the most prestigious league, so we keep in touch with them and have already held joint events, like in the Czech Republic, for example. We have a common action plan, we publish our materials, they hold various events for us, such as on a tour of Canada,” says Zubko.

The fund is built in such a way that it can cooperate with both large donors and individuals. “I can say that working with large companies really gives its feedback. We do our best to make our work more efficient.” There were a lot of attempts by the Fund to find its donor through direct contact: advertising in the arenas of top matches, QR codes on broadcasts, but, according to Zubko, these are not the amounts needed for development.

In general, the idea of ​​​​creating the Foundation was to save youth hockey, but over time, the amount of work has increased. Now there are six projects in operation: a security program, support for youth hockey, the championship of Ukraine, national teams, relocation of training arenas, restoration and construction of ice arenas.

The creation of the Youth Sports School, patronage and guardianship of young hockey players, in a word, the entire development of children and youth is the biggest component in any sport. “It’s a lot of ages,” says the FHU president. – A large number of people are involved, who bear a great responsibility. Our first step was the evacuation of children with their families abroad with the opportunity to continue playing. But it is equally important that they return, that is, we need to create all the conditions for this.”

One of the most important components of the assistance was the support of ice rinks, both private and public. “We gave someone funds to launch the arena, someone we helped with the equipment. To date, we can state that most of the arenas that stopped after the start of a full-scale invasion have resumed their work.” As for the Children’s and Youth Sports Schools themselves, Zubko says that the federation has collected all the data: in most regions, schools function, children go to school, and local authorities help with financing at a certain possible level.

But, in addition to restoration, the federation, together with the Fund, is looking for new centers for the development of the Ukrainian hockey community. The first during the war was Transcarpathia. “We have been looking at this region for a long time,” Georgy Zubko explains the choice, “I see many prospects in it and I wonder why this has not been done before. If in the eastern part of Ukraine we have 3-4 arenas per region, then in the region bordering on hockey Slovakia, Hungary and a little further on with the Czech Republic, there is not a single one. The Federation has already managed to build close cooperation with all branches of government, so the task in the near future is to turn three outdoor venues in three cities of Transcarpathia into full-fledged indoor arenas.

One of the Fund’s programs is support for the Ukrainian Championship. Many athletes have gone abroad and are doing well in foreign leagues, and there are those who are returning to do what they love at home. “If our players feel the strength and desire to play in European championships, we have created all the conditions for this to happen. But if you want to go home, your heart is here and you want to play here, you have the opportunity. It was one of our important tasks so that the athlete had a choice and the opportunity to return home, ”Zubko believes. And indeed, this is not an isolated story when players who could impose a fight in the championships of Hungary, the Czech Republic or Poland return home.

However, in order for Ukrainian sports, including hockey, to be heard, you need to be reminded of this. The fact that we continue to develop in this difficult time and despite the war, hold championships in Ukraine, compete and win medals abroad. So before the Universiade, the student hockey team went on a tour of Canada “Hockey Can’t Stop Tour” with a dual goal: the final stage of preparation for the competition and fundraising for refugees and the restoration of the destroyed Ukrainian arenas.

In total, the national team played four matches against the teams of the universities of Western Canada, in which, although they won only one victory, they achieved another important goal – they raised a large amount of funds (according to forecasts, it can reach 500 thousand dollars). Meetings, auctions, charity events were held, limited merch was sold, the arena was filled with spectators and the help of partners was felt – all to support Ukrainian hockey.

“The already mentioned Gord Miller is one of the authors of the idea with a tour of Canada. This is our real story, we feel his help and contribution to our foundation and the development of Ukrainian hockey. A lot of technical work was done, many calls and meetings were held. Most of it is thanks to Miller,” says Zubko.

One of the most important successes of the tour was the serious attention to the national team from hockey fans in general. Ukrainians who lived in Canada for years. Those who were forced to leave recently. Most importantly, the Canadian media, through which the players and functionaries tried to attract attention and remind the world that the war is ongoing, it is real and you can’t get used to it.

In addition to universities, clubs of the National Hockey League also provided their support. The national teams attended the Calgary Flames – Vancouver Canucks (3:2) and Winnipeg Jets – Vancouver Canucks (7:4) matches, as well as Edmonton Oilers training at their home arena. The latter also teamed up with the Foundation to support Ukrainians affected by the fighting. On January 5, the Oilers held a fight against the New York Islanders under the slogan “Stand with Ukraine”, where Ukrainian families performed face-offs, sang our anthem in two languages, and also sold a limited edition of “Stand with Ukraine” merchandise from the Oilers. The match of the student team at the Winnipeg Jets arena, where the Ukrainians beat the Manitoba Bisons with a score of 5:1, became the crowning achievement of the tour.

“We really want condolences in the world to be replaced by respect. It is important to do this precisely because of the quality of the game. Our next step is to show that we are not only in war, but in spite of it, we are developing in order to win. This is our history, the history of Ukrainians,” Georgiy Zubko concludes the story.

Hockey should not stop, thousands of children go to training every day so that in a few years the Ukrainian anthem will sound on the world ice arenas. We are working for the Ukrainian hockey dream now to cheer for the Ukrainians in the finals tomorrow.

Lilia Brezgunova