The Calgary Flames Alumni will be kicking off their annual toy drive beginning on December 4th from 4:00pm-9:00pm at the Scotiabank Saddledome as they join the Calgary Hitmen at ‘Teddy Bear Lane.’ From the donations, holiday hampers will be created and delivered to families in need by members of the Calgary Flames Alumni and the Calgary Police Service (CPS) on the morning of December 24th.
‘Teddy Bear Lane’ will permit socially distanced vehicles to proceed to the Fifth Street SE traffic loop entrance of Scotiabank Saddledome. At the top of the holiday decorated loop, occupants from the cozy confines of their vehicle will be permitted to gift their unwrapped toys to one of Santa’s elves.
‘Teddy Bear Lane’ will include a Christmas lights display, video screen, decorated trees and even a visit from Santa along with holiday displays from Siksika Nation, Flames Sports Bank, Calgary Zoo and other community partners.
For fans who cannot attend on Friday, December 4th, there are additional drop off locations that will be available daily from 10:00am-7:00pm starting today and collecting through Wednesday, December 16th at Red Barn Markets pop up shops located at:
· The McMahon Stadium west parking lot – 1821-1831Crowchild Trail
· Southcenter Mall in the Toys R Us parking lot – 10450 MacLeod Trail SE
Red Barn Markets is a new Local Calgary based company looking to bring unique market spaces featuring top quality products to various Calgary communities. At these two locations they have fresh boughs, wreaths, garland, eucalyptus and more.
In addition, members of the Calgary Flames Alumni including Martin Gelinas, Colin Patterson, Perry Berezan, Curtis Glencross, Joel Otto and Jamie Macoun will be on sight at both locations on Saturday, December 12th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm collecting donations. This will be a socially distanced event where people can remain in their vehicles and will be able to handoff their unwrapped gift to a member of the alumni and receive an autographed alumni card. All donations will then be wrapped and sorted into hampers to help make this Christmas a special one for deserving families in the city.
In partnership with the Calgary Flames Foundation and the Calgary Police Foundation, families have been selected from their Integrated School Support Program. The Integrated School Support Program (ISSP) is a prevention-based initiative in two elementary schools located in the Forest Lawn community.
The Calgary Flames Alumni, founded in 1993, is one of the oldest chapters in professional hockey. They are here to help those in need and have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities in southern Alberta. Their mandate is to make a quality contribution on a broad scale to Calgary and the community of southern Alberta.