Our triplet brother James has spina bifida and has played sled hockey for 7 years for the Mighty Penguins Sled Hockey team. It helps so many kids get to play hockey and our team loves to watch James play.
For our 2006 Pens Elite team service project, our team helped with the Team Israel vs Pittsburgh Alumni and Friends game. It was really cool to see our Pittsburgh sports community come together and we learned a lot about other people and other countries. The Israel Selects were really good players and fun for our team to meet.
We also learned that there is a hockey school in Israel that brings kids of different religions together. Many of the kids have grown up disliking each other because of the conflicts in their country, but find a common bond in hockey. As Shai Maaravi, our friend and Israel National Team player who lives in Pittsburgh now, says "It's hard to hate someone when you know them"
There are kids with spina bifida and other disabilities and injuries who want to play sled hockey. The Canada Israel Hockey School started a program a few years ago and now they need 8 more sleds. The cost of one sled is $800 and a set of sticks is $100.
We are hoping to raise enough money for 2 sleds and 2 sets of sticks and take these with us on our 2006 Pens Elite trip to Quebec City to play in the Pee Wee Quebec tournament. We'll be giving them to Hockey Without Borders in Ottawa to ship to Israel.