Pink the Rink is an annual fundraiser the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) hockey team throws to support those affected with cancer. This year’s fundraiser will be on Saturday, Nov. 12, against Northern Arizona University at the River City Sportsplex.
This is the sixth annual Pink the Rink. In the past five, the team raised $80,000 in total. None of the money goes to the hockey team; every single penny goes to the St. Mary’s cancer assistance fund. This fund helps local people with expenses that insurance might not cover. This can include travel for cancer treatments, or other general treatments that they may need extra financial support for.
This year, the team is hopeful that they can raise $20,000, putting their total contribution at $100,000.
The team raises money in three different ways: by selling Pink the Rink t-shirts and special CMU pink hockey jerseys donated by US Bank, charging $10 admission tickets for their Pink the Rink game, and through a kickoff event hosted at Handlebar Tap House. 10% of sales from this event will be donated to the charity. The kickoff event will be on Thursday, Nov. 10, two days before the game.
“[The team] had already done some charity [work], like coat drives for District 51, and sled hockey for disabled veterans. But, we wanted to do a kind of annual big [fundraiser], and we wanted it to stay local to support the community that supports us as the hockey team. Obviously, all human beings of different ages and genders suffer from cancer, so we picked this charity [because] it represents all cancers, and it stays local,” head Hocky Coach Timothy Winegard said.
The hockey team has earned national recognition for their charity work. They won the National Community Service Award, which is given out to teams who show exemplary community work within their league. They were also awarded a Congressional Award by the 2018 US Congress for their work.
“I’m very proud of all the players, because a lot of it is their hard work that they buy in. For six years, all of my players [have contributed], and it’s testament to their maturity and how hard they work. So, I’m very proud of all my players,” Winegard said.
Attending Pink the Rink is a way for students to support those less fortunate than themselves, and to further meld the university and the local Grand Valley community, who already greatly supports the school.
