The Stanley Cup Of Caring!

 Allan Fotheriningham, one of Canada’s pre-eminent political writers, once noted that covering sports is an excellent school for learning to write about basically everything. Besides the obvious drama of winners and losers, there are character stories, underdogs, and more life lessons than a years’ worth of Afterschool Specials.. In honour of the ten-week rite of passage that is playoff hockey in Canada, we offer some time-honoured pieces of wisdom that apply just as well to charity, and life, as they do in the locker room…(and, no, no mentioning the Maple Leafs).

1.)  ‘We Got off to a Bad Start, and it’s Tough playing from behind…’ Every form of charity is acting like a good coach in a way, because it’s always all about Hope. Now would be an excellent time to go back to our bank of sports-cliches and add in ‘We got nothing but TERRIBLE calls from the refs…’ A crucial component of any charitable cause is letting the people it’s assisting know that, for them, the game is far from over. There probably were some calls that bordered on robbery, unexpected misfortune, etc. It happens on the ice, and also every single day in life.  You don’t need a stick or a hockey sweater to make a comeback.

2.) ‘We just have to take it one shift at a time…’ Like all the best cliches, they exist because they keep being True. Undefeated teams who are up five goals in the game aren’t needing that fresh voice of support behind the bench. Charity can be that fresh, authentic voice reminding people dealing with adversity that there is a way to course-correct any successful path they’ve been travelling. The change will come gradually, so be gratified with one Good Day. Do that a few times, somehow there’s been a Good Week. No team wins a season in one game.

3.) Leave it to the Great One to have one of the greatest motivational hockey quotes. According to Wayne Gretzky, ‘You Miss 100% of the shots you Don’t Take.’ Circle back to productive Charities being in the business of coaching Hope. That means removing Discouragement. It’s support that says, we’re going to give you what you need so You can take Your shot…and get back in Your game.  (Honourable Mention goes to ‘Good Things Happen When You Put the Puck On the Net.)

4.) ‘Who SAYS you can’t Win?’  How many coaches have referred back to the recent Cinderella story of David Ayres, a Leafs’ practice goalie and occasional Zamboni driver who was pressed into service when the visiting Carolina Hurricanes saw both their goaltenders injured. While some between-period pundits predicted the Leafs would feast on the 42-year-old neophyte, Ayres became the first emergency backup goalie to record a win. Coach Charity reminds people in need to be Available to Great Things Happening…well, sometimes they do.

5.)  Best to finish with the Sixth Man. Originally, the sixth man referred to the first basketball player to come off the bench, the spare who brought an intangible boost to the whole team. More recently, the Sixth Man has been used to describe the strength and energy a team gets from its home supporters, cheering on every attempt, and starting rally cries when they may have begun to doubt themselves. Basically, that collective intangible encouragement is as good as having an extra player in the game.

Why not be the Sixth Man (or Woman) with a charity or cause you truly believe in? Contact Link Charity today, and they will get you in the biggest game of all. Caring.

           Oh…and keep your stick on the ice, eh?