Thumbs up to charity, volunteerism

’Tis the season of giving, so it’s encouraging to see some sports organizations in the community doing just that.
The Fort Frances Lakers certainly come up as an example of service—from their help at Tess’ Kitchen and a coat toss held around Hallowe’en to their new “Adopt-A-School” program, in addition to other good deeds.
One shining aspect is how many players are out-of-towners but they still contribute to their adopted community.
The Muskie girls’ hockey team, too, held a “teddy bear toss” for the local Salvation Army’s Christmas hamper program on Friday night and kudos to fans for bringing toys to throw onto the ice after the black-and-gold scored their first goal.
The “teddy bear toss” phenomenon—one that has been adopted by teams right across North America—is a fun twist on giving, involving more than just dropping a donation on the table or into a can.
It’s a great way to involve fans by connecting the donation with the game.
It may seem to put a little extra pressure on players, though. In the last two Muskie girls’ “tosses,” Fort High didn’t tally its first goal until well into the game.
And not to focus solely on sports, there are a great number of volunteers around town who have nothing to do with sports yet they, too, should be saluted.
Tangible donations and action certainly are welcome in a world where some seem to believe that just changing their Facebook profile picture to a cartoon character for a weekend will make a difference when it comes to stopping child abuse.
It’s a fun bandwagon as part of a larger campaign, but to make that the bulk of activism just isn’t all that effective.
However, there’s no point in ending on a negative note, so thank you to all donors and volunteers who make a positive change—no matter how big or small— in our community.
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Local goalie Ryan Faragher, who now plays for the NAHL’s Bismarck Bobcats, is competing in the league’s “Top Prospects” tournament for the second-straight year.
Faragher, along with two of his teammates, is playing for Team Weight (named after current N.Y. Islander and NAHL alumnus Doug Weight).
Faragher stopped 17-of-18 shots in Team Weight’s 5-1 win over Team [Ryan] Miller on Sunday, but allowed two goals on 10 shots as Team Weight was edged out by Team [Brian] Rafalski on Monday.
In both games, the 20-year-old split time with Paul Moberg of the Coulee Region Chill.
This year’s tournament is taking place in Walpole, Mass.
Team Weight wrapped up the event with a game against Team [David] Legwand yesterday afternoon, although the result wasn’t available at press time.
Overall, Faragher boasts a 14-6-1 record with a 2.26 GAA and .918 save percentage.
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Local Paralympic-carded swimmer Alex Parent had a big day at the Brock Cup on Nov. 2. The McMaster University student earned a silver medal in the 800m free (9:30.80) against non-Paralympic swimmers.
Parent also competed in the 100m back (1:11.43) and 200m free (2:09.61).
Meanwhile, Heather Dutton of the University of Ottawa was at the same event. She took a silver medal in the 200m fly (2:23.39).
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Lastly, I just wanted to extend the invitation to submit results to me at dfalloon@fortfrances.com
If I don’t get them, we can’t print them.
We can never guarantee publication due to various circumstances (many unforeseen) from week to week, but I certainly want to shine a light on as many teams/athletes as possible.