The Grunthal hockey community found a way to make Red Wings Days extra special by involving the local food bank. 

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Grunthal Red Wings and local teams decided to also celebrate the work of Grunthal Caring Hands Food Bank. 

Heather Neufeld with Grunthal Minor Hockey Association says an idea was brought forward to raise money for the food bank. 

“Each of our teams does a 50/50 draw during their games. And we said, ‘hey, like would you guys be on board with donating your portion of the 50/50 to our local food bank?’ And without hesitation, every single manager, every single team said, ‘yeah, we would totally be on board for that.’” 

They also asked people to bring a tin for the bin or a Toonie. 

“We raised just over $1000 plus two large cargo containers of food,” Neufeld reports. “So, super excited that we're able to get back to our Grunthal Caring Hands in that way.” 

During January 20th and 21st, the Grunthal arena was buzzing with activity as the weekend featured a strong lineup of hockey games involving every local team. 

“We had a lot of grandmas and grandpas out, we did a door prize, and we had a Loonie stick. So, with all of those things happening, even the fans that were coming in for the other teams, they were getting excited too,” says Neufeld. “It’s just something special to be a part of the community that's celebrating something.” 

It was 75 years ago that the first Grunthal Red Wings team took to the ice. While the name “Red Wings” had been used only for the senior hockey team, it is now also the name of the younger teams. 

-With files from Carly Koop.

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