OTTAWA/ TORONTO (Dec. 18, 2017) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) presented today a donation of 25 complete sets of new hockey equipment from the players’ NHLPA Goals & Dreams fund to the Parliamentary Protective Service (PPS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) hockey program “Come Together – Tous Ensemble”. This equipment distribution will go towards deserving young children from the Conseil des Écoles Catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) elementary school board in the National Capital Region.

Representatives from PPS, RCMP, NHLPA Goals & Dreams and Senator Leo Housakos joined forces in Ottawa this afternoon to celebrate Canada’s love of hockey and share the joy of this sport with local students from CECCE on the Canada 150 Rink located on Parliament Hill. The students enjoyed the chance to test out their new equipment for the first time on the Canada 150 Rink as they played a hockey game with senators and representatives of the PPS, RCMP and the NHLPA.

“NHLPA Goals & Dreams is pleased to help more local children in the National Capital Region play hockey,” said Alex Burrows, NHLPA Goals & Dreams ambassador and Ottawa Senators forward. “We understand that not every child gets the same opportunity to play and experience our game, and we are glad to make it a bit easier for those in project Come Together – Tous Ensemble with this donation of 25 sets of equipment.”

“This project is the perfect example that we can accomplish great things when organizations work together towards a common goal. The results of this partnership will not only help in bringing down barriers between the community and law enforcement officers but will most of all provide an opportunity to children to develop their self-esteem and team play by giving them the chance to play organized hockey,” said Sgt. Sylvain Lemoyne, project coordinator.

In 2015, the Senate Protective Service and House of Commons Security Services teamed up with the RCMP’s Parliament Hill Security Unit to form the PPS).

“Thank you to the National Hockey League Players' Association for their generous donation of equipment. Who knows? In 10 or 15 years from now we might hear an interview with a NHL player talking about this day, describing the thrill of getting their new equipment and taking to the ice on Parliament Hill,” said Senator Leo Housakos.

In the fall of 2017, Sgt. Lemoyne and his team created project “Come Together – Tous Ensemble” from a partnership between PPS, RCMP, NHLPA Goals & Dreams and the CECCE. The Honourable Leo Housakos and Winterlude’s Ice Hog Family later joined the project. The goal of the project is to help and encourage deserving children to join local organized hockey leagues in the National Capital Region by providing them with hockey equipment and to promote the sport.

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About NHLPA Goals & Dreams

Launched in 1999 as a way for the players to give back to the game they love, NHLPA Goals & Dreams (G&D) has donated more than $24 million to grassroots hockey programs. Over the past 18 years, more than 70,000 deserving children have benefited from receiving G&D donations of full sets of hockey equipment. The players’ program has also assisted with upgrades and the building of hundreds of arenas worldwide in addition to the hockey equipment donations. G&D donations have spanned a total of 34 countries to date: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States of America. For more information, please visit www.nhlpa.com.