RAY OF HOPE AFTER LOSS
Less than two weeks ago, the town of Humboldt and its junior hockey franchise, the Broncos, were relatively unknown on the national and world stage.
That has changed due to the team bus crash that has claimed the lives of 16 people. Suddenly, under the darkest of circumstances, the leadership of the town and the team organization were thrust into speaking before an audience that stretched around the world. They were organizing huge memorial events and trying to support players and family members reeling from deaths and serious injuries.
On top of trying to process the tragedy and loss the team has suffered, they also had to face a beautiful but daunting task: how to properly manage the almost $13 million donated from around the world to a GoFundMe page.
As the team leadership has done since the beginning of the ordeal, they rose to the occasion. On Monday, a news conference was held to announce how the Broncos will handle the gifts. Wisely, the team sought legal counsel and input from the head office of GoFundMe. Based on this input, a non-profit corporation, known as Humboldt Broncos Memorial Fund Inc., was created. An advisory committee is being established to allocate the funds, which will be held in trust until that occurs.
The Broncos also announced that, together with legal counsel, they have launched the Humboldt Strong Community Foundation to support players, employees, families and volunteers, as well as first responders and emergency services personnel, teams, athletes, related organizations and communities affected by the bus crash. All funds donated outside the GoFundMe page will go to the community foundation.
Broncos team president Kevin Garinger — who also is the director of education for the Horizon School Division — has operated with poise and kindness in an incredibly difficult situation. He has, rightly, emerged as a hero in the wake of the crash. Likewise, Humboldt Mayor Rob Muench — who leads a community of just 6,000 souls — has displayed an eloquence and strength that would be the envy of the largest cities in the country.
Donations to the GoFundMe page will close at midnight tonight. Another name that deserves praise is Humboldt resident Sylvie Kellington, the woman who quickly created the page after the accident. It is now the largest GoFundMe effort in Canadian history.
It shows great wisdom to reach out for help from organizations that have expertise in handling large sums of money, all the while making sure the local community retains a large say in the dispensation of the donations. This is a ray of hope in the midst of catastrophe.