Letter to Coaches
Summer, 2005
RE: Adaptive Floor Hockey
Dear MN and WI coaches:
The SPCF is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) children's foundation that was established in 1997 by former NHL player and Minnesota native Shjon Podein. Our primary mission is to improve the quality of life and create an environment of caring and community support for children facing extraordinary difficulties in their lives.
We believe adaptive floor hockey is a program that fits all the above criteria. In trying to find a youth adaptive program to donate money to, we discovered that, other than the high school league, a youth program does not currently exist. We need your help and expertise to change this. It is our dream to form a youth adaptive floor hockey league for children in 3rd through 8th grade.
The SPCF has raised its own funds and has been able to acquire grant monies from the NHL Players Association as well as the Garth Brooks "Teammates for kids" Foundation to pursue this dream. This is where we desperately need you. No one knows this sport better than you. You understand what it adds to these children's lives and how much time and dedication it takes to deal with the special problems that arise in the adaptive program. We feel that if we are going to get this program started correctly we need to get help from the most knowledgeable and dedicated people in the field. That is you!
Over the past three years we have begun to form the basic groundwork. With the leadership of several Rochester, Bloomington, and St. Cloud coaches we have successfully run one and two week summer hockey camps for kids between 3rd and 12th grade. All equipment, jerseys, coaching costs, and other expenses associated with these camps is covered by the Shjon Podein Children's Foundation. These camps are designed to introduce the younger players to the game and give the high school athlete one to two weeks of off-season instruction. By introducing the younger players to the game in this manner, we hope to generate enough additional interest in adaptive hockey that a youth program in Minnesota can become a reality.
If you are willing to help us start this program in your community by running a summer camp or if you have other ideas on how we can make this program grow, please contact me at 1-800-825-3246 or e-mail me at jim.renn@rbcdain.com.
Thank you,
Jim Renn
Chairman SPCF