The Teddy Bear Toss is Saturday, November 23rd, 7:45 p.m. at the Battleford Arena, all in support of the Cram the Ambulance Fundraiser and the Battlefords District Food & Resource Centre. (Battlefords AAA Sharks/Facebook)

By Austin Mattes

More than hockey

Sharks help ‘Cram the Ambulance’ this weekend

Nov 20, 2024 | 3:13 PM

The Battlefords AAA Sharks have had a very successful start to the season, but with Christmas just around the corner, they are doing more than just playing hockey.

This year, the Sharks teamed up with WPD Ambulance for their Cram the Ambulance Fundraiser by hosting a Teddy Bear Toss to help give back to those less fortunate this holiday season.

“We’re excited that they asked us to be a part of it, it’s a great opportunity for the Sharks to get involved. This will be our first year and hopefully for many years to come. It’s really important and we love to be a part of the community, and this is a great way to give back. It’s just so fun and the girls are really looking forward to it,” said Sharks Manager, Trenna Derdall.

The Sharks encourage everyone to come out to their game on Nov. 23 at 7:45 p.m. at the Battleford Arena against the Regina Rebels and bring new teddy bears to throw on the ice after the Sharks score their first goal.

All the teddy bears will be collected and donated to the Battlefords Empty Stocking Fund, which is the Christmas campaign put on by Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre.

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On top of that, fans can also bring new toys to the game to donate and if they forget their teddy bear, they can also get one at the door for a monetary donation of their choice.

The Cram the Ambulance fundraiser was started 20 years ago when WPD Ambulance staff decided they wanted to deliver more than just health care to residents, they wanted to give them joy too.

“We all love helping people. It’s kind of in our nature, that’s why we got into that career of being paramedics, it’s another way to give back to our community. We like to help people and we see first-hand a lot of kids that could use some extra joy at Christmas and some extra toys under those trees. So it’s always been one of my favorite fundraisers just to give back to the community” said WPD Ambulance Parademic and Sharks Board Member, Erik Marcoux.

Since it started, three to five ambulances have been filled with donations yearly and given to the Empty Stocking Fund, which just last year alone gave out Christmas hampers to 405 different households, helping almost 1,200 people in the week prior to Christmas.

If you can’t make it to the game on Saturday, the WPD Ambulance will be dropping off bins at 10 businesses around the community on Nov. 25, where you can bring donations of teddy bears and toys. Then on Dec. 18, all the donations will be picked up, they’ll fill the ambulances and drive them to the food bank to be turned into hampers just in time for Christmas.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes