Tuesday night, the California University of Pennsylvania club hockey team picked up a 5-4 victory over Robert Morris University in their annual homecoming game at Rostraver Ice Garden.
Aside from the victory on the ice, the Vulcans, whose record now sits at 5-0 on the season, weren’t the only ones to win big during the night’s festivities as the proceeds from the event helped to benefit Pirates Charities.
“It was an incredible experience for the club as a whole,” Cal U coach Jason Greenway said. “A lot of work went into it from the board to our general manager all the way down to our players. It was an honor to be involved in it and to be able to give back to the community in that kind of way. It was a humbling experience for myself and our entire program.”
Over $3500 was raised for Wins for Kids, a campaign started by Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle that supports Pirates Charities and the Prader Willi Syndrome Program at the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. The money was raised through memorabilia and 50-50 raffles along with a chuck-a-puck event, numerous donations, and admission totals.
This was the second time this year in which the Cal U Hockey club collaborated with Pirates Charities as they also held a fundraiser in Rostraver in February.
“Last year, I went to our general manager and asked if there was a way that we could help raise money as a club and have a game that would benefit the Wins for Kids program,” Greenway said. “The kids in the club voted to make that what they wanted to do for the homecoming game this season.”
A main contributor to the effort to raise money for Wins for Kids is Greenway’s nephew Jacob Haugh, a 10-year-old boy from Edinboro, Pa.
Jacob began raising money for the campaign in April of 2015 when he told his family that he didn’t want presents for his ninth birthday. Instead, Jacob wanted to give back to others.
“He said he had everything he needed,” Jacob’s mother Megan Haugh said. “As parents, we thought that was a teachable moment to give back to someone else. He started looking into charities and he came across the Wins for Kids on the Pirates Charities website. The rest is history.”
Jacob initially started with a $1,000 goal for the 2015 season, a goal that he surpassed easily by raising over $3,000. Since becoming involved with Wins for Kids, Jacob, who has autism, has raised $11,825 for the campaign in nearly two years. Aside from the joy of helping other kids, picking Wins for Kids was a simple decision for Jacob.
“I’m a Pirates fan so it was kind of an easy choice to pick Pirates Charities,” Jacob Haugh said. “It’s pretty incredible and I’m lucky that I can help so many kids and reach $10,000.”
He has also made his mother and the rest of his family very proud in the process.
“He is constantly driven to do more, give more, find a different way and reach a higher total,” Megan Haugh said. “It’s really given him a lot of inspiration and purpose. He’s really fallen in love with raising money and helping. As it grows, he’s meeting more people and it’s really inspiring to see and we couldn’t be more proud.”
Aside from helping kids and the joy he gets from raising money, Jacob is also appreciative for experience and the people he has met along the way.
“The best part is forming friendships with Mr. Hurdle and Mr. Becker from Root Sports,” he said. “It’s also helping me learn how to be proud of myself.”
Plans for future fundraising events are ongoing as Jacob is already thinking of starting to collect donations for the 2017 season.
Jacob’s fundraising totals are getting so large that there are also plans to hopefully plan a larger fundraising event in Pittsburgh for Jacob’s 11th birthday in April.
Hurdle joined former pitcher Kent Tekulve and the Pirate Parrot in attendance at the homecoming event in Rostraver, signing autographs and meeting fans.
The presence of the former Pirates pitcher and the current skipper brought along a heightened excitement for the event.
“It was phenomenal and it meant a lot to the club and our university as a whole,” Greenway said of the Pirates representatives being in attendance. “Having their support and having them there boosted the event. It was an honor for us to help [Hurdle] with his charity and to have him be part of the night to be there to support Jacob and our hockey program.”
Also in attendance for the Cal U homecoming hockey event was Emily Peters from the Children’s instituite, who was a special guest of Jacob’s.
Megan Haugh said that Jacob has developed a strong friendship with Peters, who gave Jacob a VIP experience when touring the Children’s Institute to see where funds being raised are used during the summer days.
Donations to the Wins for Kids campaign can be made at any time on behalf of Jacob on the Pirates Charities website at
https://secure.mlb.com/pit/community/wins_for_kids_form.jsp.
