FANS INVITED TO MEET OLYMPIC STARS IN CHARITY HOCKEY EVENT

For Immediate Release

FANS INVITED TO MEET OLYMPIC STARS IN CHARITY HOCKEY EVENT

Canadian Women’s Hockey League plans fundraiser for CNIB

TORONTO – On Saturday evening, February 19, come out and see the best in women’s hockey. Then stay – and skate – as the fun continues.

The Toronto Hockey Club of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) is scheduled to play Montreal at 6:15 p.m. at Master Card Centre arena. This game between two highly skilled teams will feature seven gold-medal Olympians: Kim St-Pierre, Caroline Ouellette, Sarah Vaillantcourt, Julie Chu, Tessa Bonhomme and Jennifer Botterill, and Sami Jo Small.

Sami Jo Small has close connections with the CNIB, noting “I come from a long line of optometrists and my family would always volunteer at the CNIB in Winnipeg. I’d go in to read books to the blind. I know how important vision health is and I have a very close family connection to the CNIB and so I brought it to the team.”

“When the idea came up, the whole team came together to tackle the various tasks to make the event happen. I feel really positive about how hard we’ve worked to help out a great cause,” added Haleigh Callison.

The game will feature door prizes, a Silent Auction, a section for visually impaired fans with LIVE play-by-play, an autograph session, and for a $5 donation you can take to the ice and skate with the players after the game. Other surprises will also occur on Saturday making this game extra special!

All of the extras for Saturday’s game were organized by an already busy team that must balance, work, hockey, school, and other commitments, but Alexandra Hoffmeyer understands that “any time you are in the position where you can help out a greater cause, I think it's really important to do so. I've spent many years playing hockey and being taught the importance of giving back to a community that supports you.” She continued, saying “because we have this platform and many players on our team are in the spotlight even more given their status as Olympians, I think it is a great chance to help organizations such as CNIB in generating more awareness and funds using this reach.”

The CNIB provides valuable support and resources to those affected by vision loss in Canada. As of 2007 there were over 108,000 legally blind Canadians and many more that experience partial vision loss.

No tickets required. Entrance to the game and festivities is free when accompanied with a donation to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. For game spectators with a visual impairment, a special seating section has been set up to provide live play-by-play. The Master Card Centre is located at 400 Kipling Avenue in Toronto.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION

Event Media

Angela Di Stasi

416-599-9900 ext.229

adistasi@newscanada.com

Chief Organizer CWHL

Sami Jo Small

416-524-7625

samismall@hotmail.com

Toronto Media Relations

Meg Black

416-436-9575

Ms.megblack@gmail.com