Wolves serve up supper to Elgin Street neighbours

Not half a block down Elgin Street from the Sudbury Community Arena, where the Sudbury Wolves play hockey nearly every day, is the Samaritan Centre, which serves the poor and homeless.

These two worlds intersected during the evening of Jan. 28, when six Wolves players served supper to some of the clients at the Elgin Street Mission, one of the Samaritan Centre's services.

Apparently there were a few Wolves fans in the crowd, as they gave Jacob Harris, Connor Burgess, Matt Schmalz, David Zeppieri, Kyle Capobianco and Conor Cummins a round of applause before the athletes handed out pulled pork sandwiches.

Elgin Street Mission board member Gary Newbury said he thinks it's good for the young hockey players to realize there's people out there who are much less fortunate than they are.

“I think it's good to be exposed to the truth,” he said. “It's just great they would give their time.”

Harris said the experience was definitely an eye-opener.

“It's a completely different world,” he said. “We're there (at the Sudbury Arena) pretty much every day, playing hockey and living our dreams, and just down the street, there's the Samaritan Centre.”

Burgess said it's sad there are people who can't afford food, but he's glad to be able to help people and give them food on a cold winter day.

Elgin Street Mission client Daniel Rheaume said he appreciates the “benevolence” and “community spirit” the Wolves players showed in volunteering their time.

He also thinks the experience shows the young men the other side of the coin of life.

“Of course they are prominent adolescents and young adults,” Rheaume said. “Hopefully they'll have a very lucrative career. But it's showing them that there is a very great need in the community.”

Those who wish to support the Samaritan Centre's services will have a chance on Feb. 22, during the second annual Coldest Night of the Year event.

Participants are asked to gather at the Rainbow Centre mall at 5 p.m. From there, they'll walk either two kilometres or five kilometres through the city's downtown and the Donovan.

For more information, or to sign up for the event, email [email protected], phone 705-669-0111, or visit brrrrr.org/location/sudbury.

@heidi_ulrichsen