2021 hcf assist fund everly

What the Assist Fund means to me: Kym Bain

The Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund allowed Kym’s daughter Everly to stay on the ice, become the ‘celly queen’ and keep chasing her hockey dreams

Kym Bain
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August 20, 2021
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Even as a baby, Everly loved hockey. As a three-month-old, strangers jokingly asked me if she was a Canadian because of how intently she watched a game on television in a hotel restaurant.

By two years old, I couldn’t stop Everly from getting her hands on the hockey sticks at the community gym. She took her first strides after only the second time on the ice. Hockey is in her blood.

I didn’t grow up playing hockey, but I saw my daughter’s love for the game and worked hard to learn about the sport. I got her involved in skating lessons, hockey tots, and parent-and-tot ice time. Anything that would allow her to enjoy the game she so obviously loved.

She joined her first hockey team at four-and-a-half years old and now, as a seven-year-old, she hasn’t stopped. Being on the ice – challenging herself, scoring goals and battling with her friends – is still her favourite thing to do.

But if it weren’t for the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund, Everly wouldn’t be on the ice at all. Because of an injury I sustained and the effects of the pandemic, I have been off work. Without access to the Assist Fund, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for her registration fees. It meant a lot to get that help so she could keep playing the game she loves with her coaches, friends and teammates. I learned about the Assist Fund through a friend’s social media post, and it helped cover Everly’s registration fees for last season.

She was born to play hockey. She enjoys getting to play every position with the Tri-Cities Predators, especially when she scores goals. Everly was even invited to a goalie clinic, where she was the youngest player in the TCFIHA to participate. Her coaches called her the ‘celly queen’ two seasons ago because of how she celebrated scoring goals (she even got the award for best celebrations by a sniper).

Everly and I spend a lot of time watching YouTube videos of player and goalie techniques so she can get better on the ice. She talks constantly about hockey and makes me help her sort out her hockey cards into albums. She has memorized every team.

When it comes to hockey, Everly dreams big. She wants to play for Team Canada in the Olympics and win gold medals. She also wants to play in the National Hockey League when she grows up, just like Manon Rhéaume did for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

She knows that to achieve her dreams, she needs to keep working on her skills and learning from her coaches. I didn’t know a lot about hockey when Everly first started, but we’ve learned together, and hockey is something we do together every day.

None of that would have been possible without the Assist Fund. It makes her happy to be on the ice and build friendships, and I hope more families get the support they need, like we did when we needed it. Everly can chase her hockey dreams because of the Hockey Canada Foundation and the Assist Fund.

Applications are now being accepted for the Hockey Canada Foundation Assist Fund. To apply, or to donate to help kids like Everly play the game, visit HockeyCanada.ca/AssistFund.

For more information:

Esther Madziya
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 284-6484 

[email protected] 

Spencer Sharkey
Manager, Communications
Hockey Canada

(403) 777-4567

[email protected]

Jeremy Knight
Manager, Corporate Communications
Hockey Canada

(647) 251-9738

[email protected]

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