We're proud of former Sharks Sophia Rodham and Jenna Guglielmi for organizing the Fifth Annual Hockey Helps the Hungry Food Drive. Since we can't be in the rinks collecting cans, the campaign is virtual, AND they want to extend the reach to  the broader hockey community! 

Take a look at an article in the Patch about the virtual food drive. 

Jenna and Sophia kick-off the campaign with the letter (see below) and an amazing video featuring many current and former Sharks! Click here to watch the video.

The timing of the campaign couldn't be better. Usage of the Connecticut Food Bank's services are at an all-time high, COVID cases are spiking, it's the holiday season, AND we have more time given the mandated hockey pause until Jan. 19th. 

Click here to donate to the Food Bank.

The easiest way to give is to click the "Donate" button at the top of our page.  In the middle of the page, you will see "Join a Team", a way to create a group/team.  A few of our managers created team-specific groups to take advantage of the fun competition for t-shirts for the group with the most donations. Click the group to link your donation or just donate at the top of the page and enter the team's name in the field that references recognition (and don't worry, will figure it out).

Regardless of how you donate, it rolls up to the overall Hockey Helps the Hungry campaign and supports the Connecticut Food Bank's critical mission. 

Please take a look at their letter below and let's join together to take a bit out of hunger!

_________________________________________________________________________

Hello, 

 We hope this email finds you and your family well. Our names are Sophia Rodham and Jenna Guglielmi, and we are both juniors at the Taft School. As you probably know, many families have been affected by the Coronavirus and have faced financial hardships during this time.  The Connecticut Food Banks are struggling to meet the needs of the growing demand. We have recently learned that since the pandemic began, food insecurity rates have increased 44% from 277,000 people to 400,000 people in Connecticut alone.  Each month, over 200,000 of our neighbors rely on the food bank to feed their families. They need our help!

In 2016, we started Hockey Helps the Hungry with the Shoreline Sharks. We connected our small hockey family to Connecticut families in need through the Connecticut Food Bank. With the help of our amazing coaches, parents, and players, we’ve donated more than 3,000 pounds of canned and boxed goods to date. Normally, we collect goods at the beginning of the year but, in the face of the pandemic, we have decided to begin our campaign earlier. 

Since we cannot collect canned and boxed goods this year, we ask each family or team to contribute a small amount and share the initiative with friends, family members, and other players who want to help. 

Below this email is a link that will bring you directly to the donation site for the Connecticut Food Bank. To keep track of our proceeds and encourage a fun competition, we’ve also created a contest for donors to see which team can raise the most money. The team that has generated the highest monetary amount of donations at the end of January 2021 will receive Hockey Helps the Hungry t-shirts. With the help of players from different schools and programs, we have created a video explaining our goals and the competition that can hopefully be distributed to your players or anyone who may be interested in helping out. 

We know times are difficult for everyone right now, but we would really appreciate any type of contribution.  Please let us know if you have any questions. 

Thank you and Happy Holidays,

Sophia Rodham and Jenna Guglielmi 

• Link to CT Food Bank Website to Make a Donation
• Link to Hockey Helps the Hungry Kick-Off Video
• Link to Hockey Helps the Hungry Patch Article
•