THE HERO PROJECT
Prices lend a helping hand
It’s called The Hero Project, a grassroots, community-led initiative that had already raised funds, mostly small donations, through social media to help feed front-line health-care workers at the Jewish General Hospital.
Then Angela and Carey Price got wind of it and made a generous, unspecified, donation. As a result, The Hero Project, which has now amassed more than $100,000, has already served more than 15,000 meals and snacks to the hospital’s healthcare workers and will continue to do so for as long as needed.
The Habs netminder and his family are thousands of kilometres away, staying with his wife Angela’s parents in Washington state, where he continues to work out in the event the NHL season resumes in the coming weeks or months. But the Prices have kept up to speed with developments here and have been saddened to learn how Montreal has become the country’s epicentre for the COVID -19 pandemic, thus taking this action to donate.
“Even though we are not currently in Montreal, the city is in our hearts and prayers,” Carey Price said.
“We are so thankful for the front-line workers working tirelessly. They are the true heroes!”
Canadiens defenceman Jeff Petry and his wife, Julie, put up $2,500 in March to supply meals from N.D.G.’S Notre-boeuf-degrâce and a west-end Mandy’s outlet to feed health-care workers.
And former Hab P.K. Subban, now with the New Jersey Devils, put up funds, through his P.K. Subban Foundation, to provide four Notre-boeuf-de-grâce-catered Friday lunches in April to health-care workers at Montreal Children’s Hospital.
Angela Price had additional incentives. Their youngest daughter, Millie, was born December 2018 at the Jewish General. To that end, the Prices, also the parents of B.c.-born, four-year-old Liv, will also be arranging for a meal Friday for workers in the hospital’s maternity ward.
“Initially, we wanted to give back to the maternity department to show our appreciation,” Angela Price said. “But then when we heard about The Hero Project, we decided to give a little bit more to support health-care workers. Every day, I’ve been keeping up with the news coming from Montreal, and it’s so shocking to learn that the city is being hit so hard. We’re continuing to try to figure out what we can do to help more.
“Montreal is our home, too.
We spend most of the year there. That community will always be our community.”
Although the family is well, all is so much up in the air, much of that contingent on if, where and when Carey goes back to work.
“It is such a weird time,” Angela said. “We’ve been in limbo like so many others, waiting to hear something, but realizing we’re probably not going to be hearing anything for a while. So Carey is training as he would normally be, and we really don’t see him most of the day. And then I’m into a good routine with the girls, trying to do some schoolwork at home.
“It took some time but we’re in a nice routine now. The nicer weather is coming now, so that obviously makes life so much easier.”
Brenda Rosenberg, co-founder of The Hero Project with Bita Cattelan, had initially wished to bank on small donations of those hard hit by the pandemic wishing to show solidarity with healthcare workers on the front lines.
“It allowed people to sponsor a meal to a health-care worker at the Jewish General for a $10 donation, and so turning ordinary folk into heroes,” Rosenberg said. “This now covers about 1,200 people with meals and snacks almost every day. We also buy the food from local restaurants. It’s really become a win-win situation in otherwise tough times.”
Rosenberg doesn’t have a timeline for how long the project will continue.
“We first thought this project would only be around for several weeks, as many others thought. But it’s likely to run through the summer and probably longer, so we’ll stay committed to supporting our front-line workers.”
For information on The Hero Project, go to jghheroproject. com.