Toba Centre gets assist from Jets captain

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This article was published 12/09/2023 (753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Adam Lowry has always taken great pride in standing up for his teammates, including dropping his gloves on occasion to come to their defence.

But the new Winnipeg Jets captain has been fighting for another cause far away from the rink. As an official ambassador for Toba Centre, Lowry has aligned himself with children and youth who have experienced physical and sexual abuse.

“I feel like on the ice I’m more of a protector,” Lowry told the Free Press on Tuesday. “I’m not a super aggressive person off the ice, but it comes along with the territory (in hockey. So it was a natural fit to try and be a leading voice of change for these kids, to try and be a voice for the Toba Centre, help them with their capital campaign.”

Although he’s only been involved for a couple years, you can credit Lowry with a big assist on the play already. Last week, the non-profit moved into its new child advocacy centre at Assiniboine Park, which brings the many services involved in these cases from investigation through to recovery — police, medical, social work and other supports— under one roof.

Lowry went straight from a workout at the hockey for all centre to the ribbon-cutting, having played a role in getting the project off the ground through various promotions and fundraisers.

“It was extremely special and extremely exciting,” said Lowry. “To see the new space and see how they’re going to be able to positively impact so many children going through such traumatic things, it’s amazing. It really allows the children to feel more comfortable, to really start their path of healing.”

Christy Dzikowicz, the executive director of Toby Centre, said Lowry’s involvement has been valuable and speaks volumes about his commitment to the community, along with his character.

“There’s a lot of secrecy, there’s a lot of shame around the issue of child abuse and a lot of discomfort about talking about it,” said Dzikowicz.

“And that’s a big piece of what has to change. We know that abuse thrives in secrecy. Having someone like Adam tie his name to it, and not just tie his name to it, but actually start getting really comfortable learning about it and talking about it is really big.”

Dzikowicz and Lowry were first introduced through Jets chairman and co-owner Mark Chipman, who felt they would be a perfect fit. Lowry has taken a significant hands-on approach — from attending meetings, getting to know many of the children on a personal level, hosting them at Jets games and even offering to bake banana bread for the staff recently.

“I feel like I’m old saying this, but he’s such a nice young man,” Dzikowicz said of the 30-year-old Lowry.

“He just listens. It’s not just the time that he’s taken to really learn about what we do, it’s the way he comes to our building with great regularity and really listens to the staff and is really interested in learning more about this. I think he makes everybody feel important.”

That extends even to members of the construction team who were working on the facility and enjoyed Lowry’s surprise visits. On Tuesday, a couple hours after he was introduced as the new captain of the Jets, Lowry headed to the facility to film a new public service announcement that will be played at future games.

“He wants to have an impact,” said Dzikowicz.

“Those are things the general public may not see, but holy man does it make an impact on a young person who may love hockey and having an idol or someone as important as him in their eyes reach out is a big deal. He seems just as interested in the quiet advocacy and support that he is able to do than he is in anything that’s public. I think it takes guts. I don’t know of any other real connection to this cause that Adam has other than a real interest in helping.”

And learning, something Lowry says he’s done plenty of already.

“Child abuse is not something that is a common topic of conversation, but it’s something that impacts so many different people. It’s not selective in who it’s targeting. It doesn’t matter race, gender, socio-economic background,” said Lowry, who plans to be a frequent visitor at the new facility.

“To now have a fully integrated centre to help these families and these children navigate these traumatic experiences is huge.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg