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The equipment drive

Your child outgrew their skates. Somebody else's child has never owned a pair. That is the whole idea and it costs you nothing but the drive over.

A volunteer fastening a helmet cage on a camper

What we can use

What we can use

Anything a child aged five to ten can wear or use, in a condition you would be happy to put your own child in. Skates, helmets, shin pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, gloves, pants, sticks and bags.

Helmets are the one exception with a hard rule. We only accept helmets still inside their CSA certification date, which is stamped on the shell. If yours has expired we will thank you and recycle it properly, because an expired helmet on a five year old is not a saving.

What we need most

Right now, in this order

  1. A full set of equipment, all inEverything one child needs, bag included, theirs to keep$750Fund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)
  2. Helmets with cagesThe one piece nobody is allowed on the ice withoutFund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)
  3. SkatesThe most expensive item and the one they outgrow fastestFund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)
  4. SticksCut to fit each child at the gear fittingFund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)
  5. PadsShoulder, elbow, shin, and pantsFund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)
  6. Jerseys and socksTheirs to keepFund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)
  7. One full day of iceThree hours of ice for a whole camp: $450 to $1,140, depending on the arenaFund it (opens GoFundMe in a new tab)

These are the gaps for the next camp. A donated item takes one line off this list as surely as a donation does.

Give gear

Two ways, both easy

How to give it

1

Bring it to a camp

Any morning of any camp, hand it to the desk. Nothing to arrange in advance.

2

Tell us and we will collect

If you have more than a bag or you cannot get to a rink, use the form below. Somebody on the Headquarters Team lives closer to you than you think.

Fields marked * are required. We reply from openiceinitiative@gmail.com to arrange it.

What happens to it

Sized, cleaned, and given away

Nothing is sold and nothing is stored for a rainy day. Donated equipment is sorted by size, cleaned, and put into the next camp's gear pile. A child takes it home on the last day of camp and it is theirs.

Student volunteers handing out equipment bags to campers at the boards