Jets wives and girlfriends’ holiday cards raise cash for charity

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This article was published 17/12/2016 (3577 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the Winnipeg Jets, hockey and giving back to the community are family endeavours.

While the team practiced on Saturday morning, some of the players’ wives and girlfriends sold holiday cards at the CF Polo Park Jets Gear store. Each player and their family worked to create one of the cards, something Emily Byfuglien, Dustin’s wife, said was a bit of a bonding experience with her daughter, Kira.

“I actually helped my daughter draw a snowman, and then she coloured them,” she said, laughing. “She actually signed hers and her little brother’s name, so it was fun to have her involved. I think it’s really important for her to know the importance of charity, so having her do that with me kind of helps her learn to give back to the community.”

All net proceeds from the 3,000 cards will benefit Can DO People, a not-for-profit day program for adults living with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other intellectual development disabilities that helps them live fulfilling lives, gain important skills and meaningfully contribute to society. The centre opened in November 2013 and now offers vocational, leisure and life skills programs to about 40 individuals. The women hope to raise $15,000.

“It means the world to us,” Kim Corlett, Can DO People’s founder and executive director, said. “The Jets wives and girlfriends have brought us to the forefront of the community in Winnipeg. We’re a new organization, so them illuminating us has helped us immensely.”

She said people have called and offered to donate time or equipment to the organization’s new 948 William Ave. location, while others are hearing about Can DO People for the first time and inquiring about their services on behalf of family members.

“We’re incredibly grateful,” Corlett said. “I can’t give you words to describe what these women are willing to do to help the community.”

For Hali Stafford, Drew’s wife, the cards were a chance to give back and have fun.

“It was just kind of a fun opportunity to showcase each guy’s creative ability,” she said. “Everyone was able to do a photo from their childhood, which was so cute. We did something kind of funny. We used an old Christmas card. Some of the kids did drawings. It’s more personal than just selling a hat to make money. It’s more real.”

Stafford said they do a Christmas card almost every year, and their contribution – which features the couple posing in cringeworthy glasses and braces with their dog illuminated in the background – is a few years old.

“Drew keeps them all,” she said. “Our old ones are prety good. We like to do goofy ones, but then we had a baby and we had to take it seriously.”

She noted the couple love to make people laugh, and the cards gave them an opportunity to share their goofiness on a larger scale while helping a good cause.

“People are really involved with hockey here, so it’s nice to bring people together in a way outside of hockey,” Stafford said, noting they’re also involved with the ALS Association in the United States. “We have a voice through hockey, and we’re able to make a bigger difference and raise more awareness and raise more money for causes than I could just do on my own.”

Sam Wheeler, Blake’s wife, agrees.

“The fans here show the team a lot of support, so I feel like it’s important that we show our support back to the city,” she said. “Whether it’s something like this or doing something on our own time … I think it’s just important to show that we support the city as much as the city supports the team.”

Stafford said she backs her husband just as much as the city does.

“I know some people get nervous. I think it’s great. That’s his element,” she said. “When you see someone you love doing something they’re so passionate about and that they love and they’re having fun doing it, that to me is gold. You know this is such a short part of their lives … I know Drew loves that (almost two-year-old son) Mason is getting really into it and watching the games. He has no idea what’s going on, but he loves seeing ‘Dada’ on the ice. It’s really exciting. He says “go Jets go,” and he always says “goal” every time he sees a goal. It was like one of his first words.”

The cards, which have been on sale in packs of seven at Jets Gear stores since Nov. 26, are the wives and girlfriends’ second annual charity effort. Last year, they created a calendar of Jets players posing with shelter animals to benefit the Winnipeg Pet Rescue Shelter.

danielle.doiron@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @dmdoiron