The Victoria Grizzlies are rallying the troops to help Hannah Day and her family.
The Langford girl and her family are desperately searching for a stem cell transplant match as Hannah faces the second cancer diagnosis of her young life.
The Grizzlies are donating $5 from each ticket sold to the family to help cover living expenses. "Over the next 10 games we want Happy Day to be synonymous with Hannah Day," said Pete Zubersky, director of operations. "She is a four-year-old dear to our hearts. She lives near the Luxton fairgrounds. We need to make it a situation where the family doesn't have to worry about paying for the groceries, rent or electric bills."
The team has set the goal of selling 10,000 tickets for this fundraiser in hopes of donating $50,000 to the family. The Happy Day fundraiser begins Jan. 11 and runs until March 1.
Zubersky is challenging local businesses to purchase and distribute tickets to the game. An entire game can be purchased when a company buys 2,000 tickets.
"They can buy a whole game or a portion of one," Zubersky said. "We have a chance to sell out of all our games."
Also the Happy Day fundraiser is also doubling as an awareness campaign to help find a donor match to save the little girl's life.
"The next three to six months is crucial for this child to live," Zubersky said adding Hannah and her family have met the team and explained their situation. "The chance of them finding a match is like finding a needle in a haystack."
Hannah and her family travelled to Vancouver, Jan. 6, to receive treatment at B.C. Children's Hospital.
The team's captain Mark McLellan spearhead the players decision to have stickers on all the helmets bringing awareness to the angelsforhannah.com website.
"This is something that can reduce teenage hockey players to tears," said McLellan. "We want to see the stands flll up with fans, not for us players but for Hannah and her family. We'd like for the people to step up and help this family."
The fundraiser begins at Saturday night's game, Jan. 11, against the Merritt Centennials, at Bear Mountain Arena, 1767 Island Highway.
A truck will be outside the arena collecting bottles and cans at the game and 100 per cent of the money collected will go towards the family. The truck will be there from 6-8 p.m.
For more information on the Happy Day fundraiser or to purchase tickets call the Victoria Grizzlies office at 250-385-1555.