Widespread support
TYNE VALLEY – The support Tyne Valley’s Rally for the Valley is receiving is just “unbelievable,” says the community’s mayor, Jeff Noye.
Much help is needed, he admits. A fundraising committee is hoping to come up with a million dollars to help with the construction of a new rink to replace the community hub that burned on Dec. 29.
“Everybody kind of understands; everybody gets it,” said Noye, who is a member of the fundraising committee for the new rink as well as coach of the community’s atom A team. “They know what they’d feel like if they lost their rink.
“There’s a lot of support everywhere you go.”
It doesn’t make the hockey wins any easier to achieve, he admits, but, “at the end of the day, in the handshake line, there's a lot of respect there."
While the immediate focus for the fundraising committee is the Legends game and the Kraft Hockeyville contest, Noye said other events are in the planning stages.
INITIATIVES
Noye said many organizations and businesses have launched their initiatives in support of the rink’s campaign.
They include:
Moosehead Breweries – donating $1 from every case of Moosehead product sold in all PEILCC stores until the end of February, to a maximum of $20,000.
Murphy’s Pharmacies, island-wide - donating proceeds from the weekly Community Cash 50-50 draws on Jan.24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 to the Tyne Valley rink fund. Murphy’s Pharmacy in Tyne Valley will match the amount that initiative raises.
A GoFundMe campaign – its goal is to raise $40,000.
Noye said minor hockey teams and organizations across the province have donated to the cause from their 50-50 draws. “Every bit helps,” he said.
Local arenas have provided ice times for displaced Tyne Valley minor hockey teams and figure skaters.
He said support has come from minor hockey associations and rinks across the Maritimes, and some communities have suspended their Kraft Hockeyville campaigns in favour of supporting Tyne Valley’s bid.
“That’s pretty special,” said Noye, who admits Tyne Valley is pushing hard to win the Kraft Hockeyville title, which would be accompanied by a $250,000 cash prize. He believes the community’s story, about its hockey passion, is a good one.
“Hockey is kind of the backbone of the community in the wintertime,” he said.
“It’s a community that always pulls together and hockey has always been huge here.”
He tells of how area residents follow their home teams wherever they go, how the Tyne Valley Oyster Festival has supported the rink and how the rink was the venue for many Oyster Festival events.