SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that $6 million was raised over the course of the 2018-19 season by the AHL and its 31 member clubs for donation to various charitable causes and relief funds across North America.
Among the many recipients of the AHL’s charity endeavors this season were:
• Ace Bailey Children’s Foundation
• ALS Association
• American/Canadian Cancer Societies
• American Heart Association
• American/Canadian Red Cross
• Boy Scouts of America/Girl Scouts of the USA
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Jimmy Fund
• Easterseals
• Hockey Fights Cancer
• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• Mario Lemieux Foundation
• Military Order of the Purple Heart
• Ronald McDonald House Charities
• Salvation Army
• Special Olympics
• Susan G. Komen For the Cure
• United Way
• Vet Tix
• YMCA/YWCA
• You Can Play Project
and many more…
In addition to monies raised, AHL teams gave back to their local communities through numerous activities, including more than 1,300 visits by players and coaches to schools, hospitals, libraries and other locations and more than 2,700 mascot appearances. More than 200,000 game tickets were donated to local charitable groups, and items such as food, coats, holiday gifts and hockey equipment were collected at various drives organized by AHL clubs.
In operation since 1936 and with franchises in 31 cities across North America, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives and broadcasters of all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 87 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 7 million fans attended AHL games in 2018-19.