The National Hockey League Players’ Association is a prominent figure in the fight to end cancer. Their charitable initiative, founded in 1998, funnels its attention on raising money and awareness for this issue throughout the year, and has always culminated in October with the Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Month.
Throughout October, the Hockey Fights Cancer logo is featured prominently on player’s helmets, arena ice rinks and marketing boards, on special purple ties, and other NHL paraphernalia. The Hockey Fights Cancer movement is supported through the use of local tournaments, raffles, online auctions, ticket donations, and fundraising walks.
This year, the NHLPA decided to push the fight to end cancer further than it ever has in the past; and to keep the momentum carrying beyond October and through the hockey season, with the use of a social media community focused on #HockeyFightsCancer.
The NHLPA website states: “The hockey community is a family. And, like most families, we all know someone who has been affected by cancer.”
The website encourages viewers to post a picture to social media – Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram – with a purple NHLPA sign that reads “I fight for (fill in the name)” and the use of #HockeyFightsCancer.
I fight for my mom. My dad. Kim White. And Nanny. #hockeyfightscancer pic.twitter.com/nn11RlKman
— Erin Walker (@erinsdesign) November 16, 2014
The hashtag assists the NHLPA in tracking these members of the NHL community across all media platforms. The #HockeyFightsCancer pictures are then shared publicly on the Hockey Fights Cancer website.
This sense of community, which the NHLPA is fostering through the use of the digital space, is a brilliant move for two reasons. First, it places the importance of fighting a cure for cancer in the social media space, where it can be viewed and shared by all NHL fans and affiliated parties. Second, the use of #HockeyFightsCancer allows the NHLPA to promote its fundraising efforts, while also creating a sense of unity for all fans and family members who have ever known someone to have been diagnosed with cancer.
At present, Hockey Fights Cancer has raised over $14 million in support of national and local cancer research institutions, hospitals, and player charities.