124 jerseys were left at the Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau memorial, which were laundered and are being used to design quilts that will be donated to local charitable organizations ❤️
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The Flames and their fans should be proud of how they dealt with the Gaudreau tragedy
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
When you think about it, we probably shouldn’t have been surprised.
Throughout Calgary’s history, there have been a lot of challenging situations that have really brought the community together to work through tough times. In 1886, most of the town’s downtown structures – all wooden – burnt down. In 2013, the city dealt with a massive flood. While Calgary’s obviously a much larger community now than it was in 1886 – or even 2013 – when the going gets tough, the city has retained its small town, band-together spirit.
When it was announced early on Sept. 1 that former Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew had been killed while cycling in New Jersey, within hours fans started gathering at the steps of the Scotiabank Saddledome and leaving tributes to the departed brothers. Some brought sticks. Some brought jerseys. Some brought snacks associated with Johnny Gaudreau, such as Skittles or purple Gatorade. Early on, chalk was left at the steps and fans filled the area in front of the Saddledome with heartfelt messages.
In a situation where it’s so easy to feel helpless – a pair of senseless, premature deaths – fans opted to do something in order to show support for the Gaudreau family. Calgary banded together, as it often does, to support a family that became part of the community during the 11 years that Johnny Gaudreau was part of the Flames organization.
The memorial outside of the arena was on display for two weeks, with the Saddledome staff moving some items slightly during that period in order to adhere to fire code and facilitate operations for concerts. When the memorial was finally taken down starting on Sept. 16, the many, many donations were catalogued and partners found to maximize their impact to the community. In the run-up to Tuesday’s visit from the Columbus Blue Jackets – and the pre-game tribute to the Gaudreau brothers – the Flames provided updates on the items donated at the memorial and where they ended up.
Jerseys left at the memorial were turned into quilts.
Hockey sticks left at the memorial were turned into benches, with the first one being unveiled at Flames Community Arenas this week. (Based on the number of sticks in the initial bench, eight will be produced from the sticks donated to the memorial.)
Emotional unveiling for the Gaudreau family of the first bench made by 27 sticks from the memorial, dedicated to Johnny and Matthew’s memory. Made by a season ticket holder, the bench is at Flames Community Arenas.
Stuff toys left at the memorial were donated to Parachutes for Pets.
103 stuffed toys were left at the Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau memorial, which will be donated to @ParachutesP for their Lily & Dexter's Legacy Program ❤️
The bottles from the many, many Gatorates (and other beverages) were donated to KidSport Calgary for use in their recycling program.
1600 purple sports drink bottles were left at the Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau memorial, which were emptied and donated to the @KidSportCalgary recycling program. Johnny was a supporter of KidSport Calgary, acting as an ambassador and donating to their Goals For Kids program.
13 cents from every Skittle left at the memorial were donated to the Calgary Food Bank.
Many, many bags of Skittles were left at the Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau memorial and we pledged to donate 13 cents to the @CalgaryFoodBank for every single Skittle. With 105,563 Skittles, that totalled to a $13,723 donation, which will provide hampers for 130 families.
In addition to facilitating the re-purposing of the many (many) fan-donated items, the Flames (via the Flames Foundation) raised money for MADD Canada and KidSport Calgary surrounding Tuesday night’s game via the 60/40 draw and auctioning off Dan Vladar’s Gaudreau brothers tribute mask and the Gaudreau jerseys that the Flames players wore during pre-game warm-up.
Our player-worn Johnny Gaudreau warm-up jersey auction is LIVE! Bid on them now: cflam.es/3OGgMTE
The deaths of the Gaudreau brothers was a heartbreaking loss that will be felt by those who knew them – and those who cheered for them – for a long, long time. But through a series of small, thoughtful tributes, the Flames and their fans managed to create a positive impact in the community during an extremely sad time.
As tends to happen when the chips are down, Calgary showed up, big time in the aftermath of the Gaudreau tragedy. Everyone involved should be very proud.
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