Whiteout parties whip up green for city charities

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This article was published 17/07/2024 (465 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Scott Arniel remembers what it was like to experience the original Whiteout inside Winnipeg Arena as a player and to see how the event brought Manitobans together.

Nearly four decades later, the head coach of the Winnipeg Jets is encouraged to see the tradition continue and on a day where the United Way and True North Sports and Entertainment announced it is making a contribution of $100,000 — to be split equally between four community charities — Arniel was among the speakers at a press conference in downtown Winnipeg who took pride in knowing what the cash would be used for.

“Winnipeg has been home for me since 1981, when I first came here. My wife Lia is from here and we raised our family here over the years and we are personally invested in efforts to make our city a better place,” said Arniel. “Being part of the original Jets Whiteout back in the ’80s, it was an exciting part of my personal hockey story. Now that my role has changed, in moving behind the bench, it’s exciting to see that this tradition not only lives on, but has grown tremendously.”

The Jets were eliminated in five games in the opening round series against the Colorado Avalanche, but the parties held during the three home games helped boost the total amount True North, in partnership with United Way Winnipeg, has contributed to more than $312,000 into downtown agencies to combat homeless, addiction and hunger throughout the Whiteout Street Parties.

Roughly 20,000 fans attended the Whiteout Street Parties and Hargrave Market Street Party in the Plaza. Half of the proceeds from the $10 tickets that were sold have been reinvested back into the community.

True North had contributed $75,000 to the United Way during the playoffs and a contribution from Academy Hospitality’s Party in the Plaza events and “a small top off” from True North brought in an additional $25,000 to hit the $100,000 mark for 2024.

The $25,000 contributions were made to Main Street Project, a safe place for people experiencing homelessness, substance use, and mental health challenges; the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, which provides long-term residential care and addiction treatment for men struggling with drugs and alcohol; N’Dinewemak-Our Relatives’ Place, an Indigenous-led resource offering space for the homelessness; and Siloam Mission, which supports Winnipeggers struggling to meet their basic needs with clothing, food and shelter).

“Winnipeggers care about their community and they bring so much energy and enthusiasm. Our fans are there when things are good cheering us on and when things get hard, we rally together. Basically, Winnipeggers don’t give up, they show up,” said United Way Winnipeg president and CEO Michael Richardson.

“These organizations make sure that Winnipeggers aren’t alone during some of the toughest times of their lives. They meet people where they’re at, with passion, love and caring and have space for people, to heal and to grow.”

Some of that growth has come through viewing parties that are hosted by Main Street Project, with the help of True North, which donated pizza and supplied merchandise for those events.

“When you’re homeless, in your whole life, you don’t have any normalcy or a routine or anything like that. So to have Whiteout parties, we’re showing the game, you’re hanging out with your friends, (doing) kind of what everyone experiences,” said Main Street Project executive director Jamil Mahmood.

“Everyone is engaged and it’s super great. Having that normalcy of being a regular human and not struggling or trying to survive is such a powerful thing to give to people. So we try to give that to people every chance that we get.”

While those opportunities help supply a reprieve and are greatly appreciated, further investment from the community is needed to make fundamental changes to the challenges faced by the city.

Arniel, who is preparing for his first season as the bench boss of his adopted hometown team, is excited to be part of the growth of this initiative.

“It’s a priority for True North and the Winnipeg Jets to contribute to our cities’ story both on and off the ice,” said Arniel. “We hope to be able to play a role in helping move this forward in seasons to come. We’d like that party to last not just one week or two weeks, we want it to last two months.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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Ken Wiebe
Reporter

Ken Wiebe is a sports reporter for the Free Press, with an emphasis on the Winnipeg Jets. He has covered hockey and provided analysis in this market since 2000 for the Winnipeg Sun, The Athletic, Sportsnet.ca and TSN. Ken was a summer intern at the Free Press in 1999 and returned to the Free Press in a full-time capacity in September of 2023. Read more about Ken.

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