A Capital Region sports team and social services organization are celebrating a new partnership.
The Albany FireWolves, a box lacrosse team playing at MVP Arena in Albany, and St. Catherine's Center for Children have signed an agreement allowing children in the program to attend home games for free. St. Catherine’s Executive Director Cindy Kouhout says the partnership is unlocking great opportunities.
“Many of our children have never been to any sort of professional game, even college games, because they just haven't had access to those things. So to be able to have tickets that our kids could go and experience that is amazing,” Kouhout said.
Speaking Friday in Albany, Kouhout says the three-year agreement is a formalized version of the previous arrangement with the team.
“The FireWolves will give us tickets, and they let us know what dates those tickets are for. And then what we do is reach out to our community partners, our families, our foster care families, our residential students, our school students, and we find out who's available and who wants to go,” Kouhout said.
St. Catherine’s service area includes 26 New York counties between the Canadian border and Long Island, in addition to 20 school districts.
Kouhout says it’s amazing for the kids.
“The kids can go with staff supervision, and they get to go to the game, they get to go and have a hot dog and popcorn and all those things that it could be the first time they've ever done some of those things,” Kouhout said.
FireWolves team president Chris Porreca says the partnership is a continuation of the team’s outreach efforts.
“We have a goal to be out there 75 times throughout the community, doing the same thing and even more, not only that, but we were in schools. Last year, we went to 70 schools. This year, our goal is to be in 80 schools,” Porreca said.
For those who have never seen a box lacrosse game, FireWolves Director of Corporate Partnerships Phil Bardsley says it’s akin to a mashup of different sports.
“It's played on a sheet of turf that is the same dimensions and sizes of hockey rink. It's transitional lacrosse- it is a blend between hockey and basketball, that’s what our fans say. So you'll see the schematics and the schemes of basketball with the aggression and violence of hockey,” Bardsley said.
The FireWolves also made a donation of 518 dollars, for the Capital Region’s area code, to St. Catherine’s.
The FireWolves kick off their season on November 30th against the Saskatchewan Rush. But Bardsley says the December 14th home game against the Calgary Roughnecks might be a bigger deal.
“It's our Happy ‘Howl-idays,’ thanks to our friend here, Alphie, and we ask and challenge the entire community to come out. Purchase a ticket, bring a teddy bear, throw that teddy bear out, because when we do that teddy bear toss all those teddy bears are going to be brought right back here to St. Catherine’s,” Bardsley said.
