How you can get involved in the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative

Erik Gudbranson explains how Saku Koivu touched his family when his brother Dennis was diagnosed with cancer as a young boy.

The Hockey Fights Cancer campaign, which runs from Oct. 18 to Nov. 18 is well underway and will have a key role on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night, as Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Colorado, San Jose, and Washington all host their awareness night.

This is a joint initiative founded by the NHL and the NHLPA and has raised more than $16 million to support national and local organizations involved in caring for cancer patients and researching a cure.

There are many ways you can get involved.

• If you go to HockeyFightsCancer.com you can make an online donation

• No purchase is necessary to make a donation in-store at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store and the National Hockey League Foundation and Reebok will each match every $1.00 donated by fans (up to $2,500 in total donations)

• If you go to the Hockey Fights Cancer website, you can download and share your own “I Fight For” sign.

• Commemorative merchandise is available for purchase at shop.NHL.com.

This year, the campaign is partnering with five national cancer organizations to help raise awareness. Those organizations are listed below, from NHL.com:

• Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a new partner this season, will use its donation to support three critical areas for families with children who have cancer: supporting grants distributed via the Young Investigators Award to promising early career scientists; the Travel for Care Program assisting families who face the need to travel for treatment; and the SuperSibs program which provides brothers and sisters of childhood cancer with resources and activities to help them cope during turbulent times.

• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, returning for the seventh season, will continue to use its donation to invest in research to advance therapies and save lives, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies.

• The Movember Foundation, returning for the fourth season, continues to use its donation to fund its men’s health initiatives, specifically in the areas of prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.

• Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, returning for the seventh season, will allocate its donation to its Community for Progress professional development and mentorship program for its scientific researchers, which fosters collaborations and is designed to strengthen the pancreatic cancer research community.

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, also a new partner this season, will use its donation to further its lifesaving mission: Finding cures. Saving children.® St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

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