The American Hockey League’s five California-based teams – the Bakersfield Condors, Coachella Valley Firebirds, Ontario Reign, San Diego Gulls and San Jose Barracuda – have announced efforts to collect items for donation and raise relief funds for those affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.
The clubs will team up to deliver donations to the Los Angeles area on Monday, January 20.
BAKERSFIELD
The Condors are on the road this week, but they have announced they will be donating proceeds from their January 24 in-game auction to wildfire relief.
In addition, a portion of ticket and merchandise sales from the Jan. 24 game will go to local Bakersfield and Kern County fire and emergency personnel who have been dispatched to the Los Angeles area.
COACHELLA VALLEY
Last week, the Firebirds along with the One Valley Foundation pledged $10,000 to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation to help those affected by the wildfires. An additional $7,000 was raised during Sunday afternoon’s game through the One Valley Foundation’s in-game auction.
The team has also been holding a series of donation drives this week outside Acrisure Arena, including prior to tonight’s game against Henderson. Fans are encouraged to donate much-needed items including baby diapers, phone chargers, socks, deodorant, toothpaste, dry shampoo, blankets and new pillows, as well as food items such as non-carbonated drinks, cases of water and Gatorade, dog food, crackers, trail mix, fruit snacks, energy bars, pop-top tuna and chicken- and protein-based snacks.
Starting Tuesday, 50 percent of the proceeds of all individual tickets purchased for this Thursday’s Firebirds game, both online and in person, will go toward fire relief and recovery efforts.
ONTARIO
While the Reign are the home team for the booming Inland Empire region to the east of Los Angeles, they also have a close connection to Los Angeles as the Kings’ affiliate. The team shares the Toyota Sports Performance Center practice facility in El Segundo, just south of Los Angeles International Airport, and Reign players and staff live predominantly in the South Bay region of the Los Angeles area, a short drive away from the Palisades wildfire.
At their home games last Friday and Sunday, the Reign collected more than $4,000 via their chuck-a-puck contest and the Hope Reigns Foundation’s silent auctions. That money is for the World Central Kitchen, which is serving up free hot meals at more than 20 different locations.
The Reign had already scheduled their First Responders Weekend for home games this Saturday and Sunday. And with so many local and regional fire, rescue and police personnel occupied dealing with the ongoing fires, the team will recognize them at their Feb. 23 home game.
The Reign’s annual Fire on Ice game is also scheduled for this Saturday, matching the Ontario Fire Department team against the New York Fire Department. The event will benefit the Ray Pfeifer Foundation for Sept. 11 first responders along with the daughters of the late Ontario firefighter and paramedic Javan Settles, who passed away Dec. 19.
SAN DIEGO
The Gulls collected donations at home game against Iowa on Wednesday.
In addition, the team will have an online fundraiser to benefit World Central Kitchen as well as the Los Angeles Fire Department. The San Diego Gulls Foundation will also match all donations up to $5,000 through Sunday.
SAN JOSE
The Barracuda do not have a home game this week, but the organization’s charitable arm, Beyond the Reef, pledged all of its chuck-a-puck proceeds from their sold-out Jan. 10 game to the LAFD Foundation; chuck-a-puck earnings from upcoming home games Jan. 25 and 26 will also be donated.
Additionally, Sharks Ice at San Jose will be setting up non-perishable donation stations this week to collect food, personal care items, household supplies, clothing and other essen
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams contributed to this story.
