Our Communities
Here at MidgetAAACanada.com, COMMUNITY MEANS EVERYTHING!
Not only is our website a free resource that was built for the hockey community, but our passion and dedication for giving back is the backbone of what drives us forward.
One of the proudest things we can do as a national website is to use the millions of hits of traffic and attention we are blessed with, to help organizations both in the hockey world and outside of it, in any way we can.
If there is anything we can do to help your organization, please feel free to contact us at Community@MidgetAAACanada.com to discuss how we can put our "Community" to work for your worthy cause.
Please take the time to read further as we recognize some important members of our "team".
MidgetAAACanada.com Official "Charity of Choice"
Official Charity of Choice -
Jake's House for Children with Autism
MidgetAAACanada.com is proud to announce "Jake's House for Children with Autism" as our "Official Charity of Choice"
If you are unaware of how severe the problem with Autism is, when Jake's House came on board with us just three years ago in 2008, the rate of children diagnosed with Autism was 1 in 150 children. Today, that number is up to 1 in 96 children. The scary news is that not too long ago it was 1 in 10,000.
Jake's House is a national charity that helps children with Autism and their families. Whether it's resources for therapy, or just a helping hand for families needing time to do everyday things through their "Legends" program.
They have built a network of volunteers who are aptly named "Legends" to lend a much needed helping handing in coping with .
These legends aren't only the superstars who support Jake's House like NHL Senior Vice President Jim Gregory through his NHL endorsed "Jim Gregory Friendship Tournament" featuring over 4,000 special needs kids, or Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Mark Messier and the plethora of other hockey legends, these are people like you and me.
It seems that almost everyone knows someone who is touched by autism, and we encourage you to click on the
Jake's House Logo Banner above to find out more about the wonderful work they are doing and how YOU, can become a "Legend".
We recognized a legend here at MidgetAAACanada.com during our inaugural MidgetAAACanada.com Cup tournament by awarding him with our tournament "Inspirational" award, and his name is James Bodanis.
His story is so special, but unfortunately he is one of countless others who sacrifice themselves for their families because they are touched by Autism. James' brother Jake is the inspiration for the charity and his story is too heartwarming not to share.
While James was growing up he sacrificed many things to help take care of his brother. When his parents encouraged him to pursue his passion for sports, he said "No, I need to help my family".
After much prompting by his parents to follow his dream of playing professionally, he said that he was going to where his brother's birthday on his jersey and said "Jake will never be able to play like I will, so I'm going to PLAY FOR JAKE".
Somehow the story of his selfless actions, dedication to family and the honour he was trying to bestow upon his brother started to get around, and since then hierachy of the hockey world has come out to support Jake's House by "Playing for Jake" too!
CLICK HERE to see a video of which hockey legends "Play for Jake".
We also encourage you to visit Jake's House by CLICKING HERE, so you can check out all of the wonderful work they are doing, and maybe even donate some time or a few dollars towards something very special. Everything helps and it's always sincerely appreciated.
