@FLAMESMOTB 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO – TANK BATTLE EDITION

Hi friends, it’s me, your friendly neighborhood community manager. Part of why I accepted Thomas’ offer to join the Nation Network wasn’t to help grow the community and drive traffic. It was to help give back and start growing FlamesNation in areas our friends in Edmonton tend to do.

We had some relatively big success in October with our initial Flames Money on the Board drive which raised at least $690. This is huge, given the cost to send one kid to a sports event via Kids Up Front Calgary is about $5. So in doing so, we sent approximately 138 potential kids to sporting events.

We’re aware of the obvious issues with the economy and such; many of us here at FlamesNation to varying degrees have been affected, too. So we can understand if some of you can’t contribute much or at all. If anything all we would ask is for you to share this – maybe your friends or family would be interested, too. 

On Thursday the Vancouver Canucks are in town, seemingly focused on avoiding the tank agenda but still needlessly sucking all year. So let’s have some fun with this, raise some money, and maybe watch Hunter Shinkaruk show up his former club.

Our friends at Canucks Army are joining in on the MOTB drive, who will be donating their pledges to MindCheck, an organization assisting in helping young people identify and understand mental distress.

What we’re asking you to do is make a pledge that’s tied to a likely in-game event on Thursday night, and then follow through by donating the appropriate amount to Kids Up Front Calgary. Last time we kicked in $25 for every Micheal Ferland hit. You could do $1 for every Sean Monahan goal or $100 if Deryk Engelland scores.

Personally, I’m contributing $1 for every Gaudreau, Bennett, Brodie, Backlund, Frolik, Shinkaruk, and Hamilton point. Hell, maybe I’ll donate $250 if Brandon Bollig scores a hat trick. Something to remember is you don’t have to focus on just one player, you can do something on the team level, too. It’s totally in your court to decide your donation amount.

Here’s our pledge form so you can check it out yourself. When you decide on your pledge, bug the sentient @FlamesNation bot or pester us on the @FlamesMOTB account. Share your pledges with your friends and family while raising awareness for those who aren’t as lucky as many of us are.

After the game we’ll compile all of the pledges we’ve received in a spreadsheet (we’re good at that) and send you an e-mail with a link directing you to make the donation directly to Kids Up Front Calgary. So no money will ever cross our hands. 

Let’s have some fun, make fun of those buttholes at Canucks Army, and (hopefully) enjoy some decent hockey. I mean last time they were at the Dome the Flames walked away with 5-2 victory.

Just like last time, any pledges of $15 or more will get your name into a draw for some Nations Network T-Shirts. We’ve been assured we have shirts or other merch to giveaway, but we don’t have concrete numbers on that just yet. Because giving back is so important to me, I’ll kick in a nice $50 gift certificate to Violent Gentlemen too.

If you’d like to be entered into the draw, just select “yes” on the google form and include your t-shirt size and mailing address. 

Here’s how you can help: Click on this google form and pick your pledge. Think up something funny and personal and likely to occur. Then tweet about it to @FlamesMOTB or the FlamesNation account. Plus share it to all the aforementioned friends, family, coworkers, your doctor, your dentist, and your accountant.

After all of that you’ll get the e-mail from us on Friday linking you to the Kids Up Front Calgary, actually donate the amount you pledged. And then maybe we’ll mail you a t-shirt or a potential gift card. The email also will include some sweet vibes and well wishes.

This season hasn’t gone as well as it possibly could have. Though, in many ways this sport has been a distraction for a lot of us in our personal lives. Giving back to kids who don’t have the means to afford these events is a great way to brighten their days and show that our love for hockey can extend a bit further in sharing that with others.