The Philadelphia Flyers Alumni Association will give $2 million to the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation for help with construction of a new hockey rink in the city. It will be named the Edward M. Snider / Alumni Ice Rink after the man who brought the Flyers to the city in 1967.
The donation — well, it’s more of a pledge at this point — comes in honor of the 50th anniversary of the team, and it will be presented with a giant, symbolic check before tonight’s game against Buffalo.
Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation is just a great organization, and they help kids throughout Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley through the sport of hockey. They helped refurbish four City-owned rinks through a partnership with the state in 2008, and they have ongoing plans to build rinks in three sections of the city: South Philly, Germantown and Mantua / West Philly.
“The Flyers Alumni would like to show our appreciation to Mr. Snider, who has made such a vast impact on our careers and lives, by making this pledge,” said Brad Marsh, president of the Flyers Alumni Association. “We know that Snider Hockey is going to be his legacy, and we want to be a part of that, so that we can provide a future for the boys and girls of the Greater Philadelphia Region and carry out Mr. Snider’s mission. It is one way for us to simply say ‘thank you.’”
“This commitment by the Alumni will help us further our dream of creating a new multi-purpose ice rink with classrooms and community rooms to help support our programming,” said Snider Hockey Foundation president Scott Tharp. “Our mission is to build lives and unite communities, and with this generous pledge, we look forward to helping even more student athletes succeed in the game of life.”
Last week’s Flyers Alumni Game, played in front of sold out crowd in Reading, was one part of the fundraising effort to raise this $2 million. Several other events will be announced, including the annual Flyers Alumni Golf Tournament and the Flyers Alumni Fantasy Camp in Atlantic City later this summer.
