By Pepper Parr
March 19, 2014
BURLINGTON, ON
Mayor Goldring, talking as if the group of young boys were his own children, proudly told a city council meeting that the Burlington Eagles, part of Burlington’s City Rep Hockey League, had raised more than 38,000 pounds of food in the Gift of Giving Back food drive for 2013.
It was thumbs up from these guys – members of the Burlington Eagles Atom AA team being recognized at city hall.
The Eagles Atom AA team was honored at City Hall, certainly the first time any of them had been in the Council chamber where each of the team members was given a certificate and had a group photograph taken – the typical type of thing the Mayor does on a regular basis.
But Monday evening it was a bit different – none of the boys were relatives; just a bunch of decent kids who were in the process of becoming citizens. They played hockey and took part in projects where their time was used to help someone else.
And help they did. On November 5 & 6, 2013 the Eagles along with their community partners, collected 273,571.06 lbs of food for beneficiaries. Filling shelves was important but more important for the city’s Mayor was teaching civic responsibility and the importance of giving back.
Daphne Jacques, part of Mayor Goldring’s administrative staff, explains to players on the Burlington Eagles Atom AA team, the drill they will follow when they are presented with their certificates by the Mayor for their incredible food drive results in 2013
Rick Goldring is a product of Burlington – everything about him has Burlington stamped on it. He takes great pride in his city and when he has occasion to celebrate what his citizen’s do – he gets almost gushy.
Monday evening he had his picture taken with the boys and he said all the obligatory things – there was just a lot more “this is what Burlington is all about” in his comments than normal.
Of all the groups involved in the food drive the Eagles raised more than anyone else and the Mayor wanted everyone to know that. He told the audience that Hockey Night In Canada had featured what the Gift of Giving Back is all about and that the tons of food was distributed to Carpenter Hospice, Halton Women’s Place, Partnership West and The Salvation Army.
Jean Longfield, the woman who started the annual drive nine years ago said “It was an incredible two days — unmatched anywhere in the nation.
Let’s not forget that the Eagle Atoms AA are heading for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association Championships as well.
