Stanley CSR Cup Final

There are only four teams left in the race to the highly anticipated NHL Stanley Cup Final.

Down 3-0 in the first period, the Tampa Bay Lightning pulled an unexpected comeback in their last game, tying up the series at 2-2 with the Boston Bruins. The San Jose Sharks entered their third ever Western Conference Finals series against with the Vancouver Canucks and are trailing 2-1.

As a Bruins fan, I am hoping for a Boston win. However, I decided to create a Stanley CSR Cup Final to decide which one of these possible future cup champions is the leader in CSR in the hockey league.

The NHL has a large CSR campaign called Biggest Assist Happens off the Ice , the League’s long-standing tradition of addressing important social issues in North America and around the world. Within that initiative each team has individual community outreach programs that they are dedicated to.

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins Foundation is a grant giving organization concentrating on outside organizations that enrich the Boston community through athletics, academics and health. It specifically seeks out groups who focus on at-risk or troubled youth.

The Bruins Foundation has sponsored numerous events, including Skate to Educate, an elementary age field trip program offering the chance to learn to ice skate; Jumpstart for Young Children, an organization that pairs college students with pre-school children from low-income backgrounds to teach them social skills; and the Boston Bruins Wives Charity Carnival, an event where the proceeds go to The Children’s Room, a center that offers support for children and families who have lost a parent or sibling.

Specific groups that the Bruins Foundation have given grants to include ScoutReach, the Cambridge Family YMCA and the Boston Urban Youth Foundation.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning Foundation supports a wide range of initiatives but primarily focus on a few annual events.

They host food and toy drives during the holiday season, donating items to Metropolitan Ministries and Toys for Tots.

Every home game the Lightning has a jersey raffle, raising money for Tampa General Hospital by auctioning off autographed jerseys.

The Lightning players make appearances to promote education through various programs such as Career Day and Kids Voting. Two Lightning broadcasters also have their own education programs called Score with Reading and Hockey by the Numbers.

The Lightning also focus on enriching the lives of children by hosting youth hockey camps throughout the summer months and winter holiday season.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks Foundation is dedicated to meeting the educational, social and cultural needs in the San Jose community. They specifically focus on education, health, safety and character development. The Foundation was founded in 1994 and has donated more than $5.2 million to more than 109 local beneficiaries.

“The San Jose Sharks are as deeply involved with the neighborhood we live in as we are with the game that we play. As role models, we feel responsible to give back to the community that so strongly supports us.” ― Sharks Foundation.

Similar to the Bruins, the Sharks have a grant giving program and contribute to the community by donating money to local nonprofit organizations. Aside from providing grants, the Sharks hold fundraisers to raise money for local organizations as well.

One fundraiser the Sharks recently held was called the Sharks Favorite Things Baskets. The wives and girlfriends of the players compiled baskets that were made unique to each of their significant other’s personality. The baskets were auctioned off, raising more than $31,000 for breast cancer research, which was donated to their local chapter of the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks initiative is a registered nonprofit organization called the Canucks Autism Network (CAN). Its mission is to provide year round, innovative, high quality sports, recreational, social and vocational programs for individuals and families living with autism and to build awareness and capacity through community networks across British Columbia.

The CAN website lays out the core values of their initiative:

• Family
• Program Quality
• Best Practices
• Collaboration
• Community
• Accessibility
• I CAN attitude

Their vision is to be leaders in enhancing the quality of life for families living with autism in British Columbia.

“When we first considered starting a charity for children living with autism there were certain things we knew. We knew for example, that there was a significant need to help families. That by providing programs and services to children on the spectrum, their siblings and parents, we could help families grow and play together – activities and opportunities that simply didn’t exist.” ― Paolo and Clara Aquilini, CAN founders.

CAN provides multiple programs for children living with autism. One program is within their I CAN play series and focuses on teaching autistic children to skate. It is designed to teach basic skills in a low stress environment by using picture symbols to represent each activity step by step. CAN also provides similar programs for swimming and soccer.

Here is a short video highlighting CAN:

After analyzing each initiative, I believe the Vancouver Canucks are the winners of the Stanley CSR Cup Final! They have an inspiring CSR program that is well established and has distinct core values. Instead of providing to other organizations, they do it from within and dedicate themselves to one worthy cause through CAN. Congratulations, Canucks!

Although Vancouver came out on top in my own contest, you will have to tune in over the next few weeks to see who the true Stanley Cup champions will be!

Here is a schedule of the upcoming games:

-Katie

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