B.C. hockey community gets behind Humboldt with prayers, Jersey Day
Still numb to the news from Saskatchewan the night before, a group of Langley hockey moms gathered early Saturday morning and wondered what they might be able to do to help in a small way.
They struck upon the idea of a Jersey Day this Thursday, a way to let everyone affected by Friday night’s tragic hockey-bus crash, that left 15 dead and 14 injured, know that people are thinking of them and feeling their pain.
“Just a small group of us Langley hockey moms, we wanted to let them know,” Jennifer Pinch said. “And then we thought why stop with us, why not make it B.C.-wide, Canada-wide?
“If I could I’d be there and hold their hands. A small gesture, it’s the least we can do.”
Jersey Day is one of the small, supportive gestures going on around the Lower Mainland for those affected by the Humboldt Broncos tragedy.
A candlelight and prayer vigil was held Sunday evening at Lighthouse Church in Ladner in solidarity with the grieving community of Humboldt.
Organized by Pastor Danny Stebeck, the vigil was open to all in the local community.
The gestures are in response to a collision on Friday between a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team and a semitrailer. The team was on its way to a playoff game at Nipawin in northeastern Saskatchewan at the time of the crash.
The vigil coincided with one held in Humboldt that was broadcast live at the same time.
“The purpose was two-fold,” said Stebeck, a chaplain with the Vancouver Giants and Hockey Ministries International.
“One, it was to provide a space in this area for people who feel hurt and want to do something. They could come and share their hurt together. Secondly, it was to show solidarity to people in Humboldt, to let them know we’re standing with them in their grieving.”
Inside the church, the names, numbers and hometowns of each victim were pasted to the walls.
The mood was solemn for a tragedy that moved people around the world, from the Queen and Ellen DeGeneres, to parents and hockey fans who feel helpless.
“I lost my brother when he was 24, you ask why, just why?” said Ladner resident Joan Tamvoline before heading inside the church.
“I can’t do anything for those people but I can support them with my feelings and prayers”
Derek Holloway, the longtime bus driver for the Vancouver Giants, drove down from 100 Mile House, where a new granddaughter has just been born.
“It hit me hard, I’m obviously not as tough as I thought I was.”
Holloway said he’s dealt with icy roads and moose, but never a vehicular accident.
“They never had a chance from the looks of it,” he said. “I just wanted to be here.”
Hockey mom Pinch learned of the news while grocery shopping, standing in front of a display of apples, her brain unable to process what she was reading on her phone.
The next morning she and her small group of Facebook hockey moms got together.
Thursday’s Jersey Day is an attempt to show solidarity, she explained.
The idea is to wear a jersey, any jersey — “Hockey, soccer, basketball, a T-shirt with a No. 1 on it becomes a jersey,” Pinch said — take a photo of you wearing it and post it on social media with the hashtag #jerseysforhumboldt.
“I have a 16-year-old son who is just beginning the tryout process for junior hockey,” Pinch said. “My 18-year-old daughter has junior hockey friends, we have good friends who billet a junior hockey player. We got together at 7 a.m. and thought, ‘What can we do?’ This little event we created ... it got so much traction: From England, Chicago, Texas, support from all across Canada, people say they will wear their jerseys on Thursday.”
A GoFundMe page set up for the survivors and families had raised more than $4.6 million as of Sunday night, surpassing its $4-million goal.
I lost my brother when he was 24, and you ask why ... I can’t do anything for those people but I can support them with my feelings and my prayers.