ROCKFORD, Ill. – The Rockford IceHogs today announced the team contributed more than $160,000 to charitable causes during the 2017-18 campaign.
Overall, the IceHogs raised a total of $160,900.06 for Rockford and the Northern Illinois community last year. That figure features a team-record $80,124 raised during the Hogs’ 19th annual jersey auction for the Bryan & Amanda Bickell Foundation, which pushed the IceHogs’ jersey-auction total to more than $1 million raised through 19 seasons of the annual Jersey Auction Game.
Additional fundraising efforts last season included Pink in the Rink, benefitting Swedish American Hospital and Mary Kay Foundation ($35,610.05), Autism Awareness Night, benefitting Autism Program of Easterseals ($16,000), Military Jersey Auction, benefitting the Veteran Drop-In Center ($13,483.06) and the annual Bowl-a-Thon, benefitting Brovember Inc. ($8,501).
IceHogs’ players, coaches, front-office personnel and team mascot, Hammy, were also active in the community throughout 2017-18. The IceHogs organization combined to make more than 150 appearances in the local community, including trips to hospitals, schools, Jr. IceHogs practice and bell ringing for the Salvation Army. Other notable charitable causes supported by the IceHogs during the 2017-18 season included:
- The Hammy Hustle 5K in conjunction with Meltfest
- Red Kettle Night with the Salvation Army
- An item drive with the IceHogs players’ wives and girlfriends for Rock House Kids
- Reading Program through which the IceHogs donated more than 12,000 tickets to local elementary schools and libraries
- Annual Teddy Bear Toss
- Donation packages for more than 460 local businesses and non-profit organizations
The IceHogs also helped donate more than 800 pounds of food through various food drives, raised $2,000 for a local child diagnosed with Batten Disease and helped provide a hockey scholarship through the Belvidere Park District.
In addition, several IceHogs players again headlined the team’s Anti-Bullying program, which included numerous visits to local schools during the hockey season. As part of the initiative, Hogs players encouraged kids to take the “Buddy Pledge,” which was championed by the motto “Be a Buddy, Not a Bully.”
For more information on where the IceHogs, and Hammy, will be in the community this summer, check the IceHogs Community Calendar.
Season Tickets for 2018-19 on Sale Now:
Don’t miss a moment of the action by reserving your seats for the IceHogs’ 20th season of professional hockey in Rockford and 12th as the top AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks. The IceHogs’ home opener is set for Oct. 13 and ticket packages begin as low as $105 for a seven-game mini pack. Please contact us at (815) 847-6399 or visit icehogs.com to claim your spots for this upcoming season.