Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Look good, do good: Hockey Players Union bracelets

On advice from now-Detroit Red Wing Mike Commodore via Twitter, I picked up one of these bracelets online from the Hockey Players Union:


Pretty cool idea...take a hockey skate lace, chop it into bracelet-sized pieces and attach a snappy button to seal it up.  It looks sharp - I have a white one - and is much more distinct than the legion of silicone bracelets that are out there.

Beyond that, there's the cause that's being served.  The Hockey Players Union says,
We have a goal to unite the entire hockey population and raise funds for underprivileged children wanting to play hockey by giving the profits from every product sold towards the cause.

Seriously, how can you argue with that? Hockey is an incredibly expensive sport to play, between equipment, ice rental and travel costs. Anything we can do to support kids who otherwise can't play is a good thing.

On the critical constructive side: This is a Canadian venture, so we're not necessarily supporting Central Ohio kids. In addition, the Hockey Players Union doesn't advertise itself as a non-profit entity (presuming that non-profits exist in Canada like they do in the USA), so it's worth wondering how much, if any, of the profits really get into kids' hands. Lastly, the bracelet cost me something like US$8.50 - again making you wonder how much this effort is really helping the cause.  It takes a lot of $8.50 bracelets to buy a few hundred dollars worth of hockey resources, you know...

Regardless, it's a cool looking bracelet. And I'm glad I bought one...betting that I'm helping some kids play the sport that I've grown to enjoy so much.  As the Hockey Players Union itself says on its website:
1 in 3 children can’t afford to play hockey, we can change that.

All children should have an opportunity to participate in the great game we all love.
Fair enough.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for your support in purchasing our Original Hockey Lace Bracelet. Our organization raises funds for underprivileged children wanting to play hockey in North America.

    We're based out of Canada but have many sales reps in the United States. Our funding actually gets distributed based on where the products are being sold. EXAMPLE Ohio... accounted for 4% of our monthly sales last month. 4% of the funding raised will be put aside for that region. Once we have raised enough funds for that region to support a few underprivileged children, we contact local hockey leagues to provide the funding appropriately.

    We can't call ourselves NON-PROFIT yet because the wait time for approval is 8-10 weeks and our organization started in May of this year. As far as how much of your purchase is helping kids... We charge $5.99 CDN, at this time 80% of the proceeds are able to go towards the cause. It costs our organization to manufacture the bracelets. Based on 1 bracelet... $5.99 CDN + 13% HST + $1.44 shipping... $8.21 CDN

    We have really appreciated all the support we've received and once again thank you for helping support our cause!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jason -

    THANK YOU for your comment. I'll readily admit my ignorance on your organization and its efforts, so your explanation makes me feel even better about my small investment.

    In fact, I feel so strongly about this concept that if you'd like to place a small ad on my blog at no charge, email me at darkbluejacket [at] sbcglobal [dot] net. We'll work something out.

    DBJ

    ReplyDelete
  3. I appreciate the article. Many of us may know about the uses of silicone wristbands. From raising awareness to increasing fund for any organization and sports event, it is widely used. Now it is becoming very popular among people.

    ReplyDelete

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