New COVID-19 Program Helps Cover Hockey Fees

If the COVID-19 pandemic has made hockey a bit more out of reach for you and your family, there is help available.

Donna Iampiere is the executive director of the Hockey Canada Foundation and tells us about their new Assist Fund, which represents a commitment of $1 million from Hockey Canada and provides up to $500 towards the cost of registration.

“(The fund was set up) to ensure that dollars available for families and kids who have been impacted by COVID-19,” says Iampiere, “Our unemployment rates in Canada have doubled since February, and we need to be sure that the money is there and gets to the families and kids who need help paying for registration.”

She explains that there are requirements to be approved, which include receiving financial support from the government due to COVID-19 and/or the monthly Canada Child Benefit.

With the season getting started for some leagues across Canada already, Iampiere adds that even if you’ve already paid the registration fees you can still get support from the fund.

“(People in that situation) can go through the application process and if approved, we would pay the funds directly to their local hockey association. That local association would then pay for the registration, or refund the family if they’ve already covered the cost.”

If you’d like to apply for help through the fund, would like to donate to the fund, or would like to learn more, you can find all that information here on the Hockey Canada website.