UPDATE: The 3D Children’s Charity Tournament is postponed as a result of the ongoing wildfire situation in the Grande Prairie Region. According to the charity, they want people to focus on the situation at hand first and will hold the tournament at a later date.
The 3D Children’s Charity Society is raising money to help seriously ill children in the region by hosting its annual hockey and soccer tournament on May 12th at the Hansen Lincoln Field and adjacent parking lot.
Students in Grades four to 12 from the Grande Prairie and District Catholic School Division, Peace Wapiti School Division and Grande Prairie Public School Division will participate.
Executive Director Darren Foley says the event has changed since he was a local high school student. At the start, students in the region played five-on-five hockey games at the old Grande prairie Composite Highschool, but the message remains the same.
“From the begining, the main goal of our charity has always been to support local kids in Grande Prairie and surrounding communities,” Foley says.
He explains the charity supports sick kids with travel, some going to the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton, others having to travel out east to facilities such as the Toronto Children’s Hospital, with some having even gone down to the United States for treatment. Foley says the charity has done well to support kids and families in the region while keeping a relatively low profile.
“We don’t want a big spotlight on these kids [as] we feel like they already have a spotlight on them. Some have cancer, some have lost their hair, and some are in wheelchairs, so we try to sneak in, support the family.”
According to Foley, since the event kicked off in 1999, the charity has helped more then 500 children in the region.
More information on the tournament can be found on the charity’s website.