Cathie and David Tuck, founders of the Peterborough Huskies special needs hockey team, are one of 30 semi-finalists in the Toyota Wish Giver contest that’s awarding cars to 10 Ontarians who do good in the community and ask for nothing in return.
Anne Arnold, Director of Business Development at The Venue, nominated Dave and Cathie for the contest to recognize their efforts in founding and developing the Peterborough Huskies special needs hockey team.
“Dave and Cathie are so deserving of this,” Anne says. “It’s more than just the Huskies hockey team. They are at every event, every fundraiser, and every extra activity that they provide for the team.”
You can vote for Dave and Cathie directly at toyotawishgiver.com. Vote daily until Wednesday, December 9th (all you need to vote is an email address).
After voting ends, Toyota will select 10 finalists — each of whom will win a 2016 Corolla CE valued at $19,700. Each winner will be announced live on CityTV’s Breakfast Television daily from Monday, December 14th to Friday, December 18th, and Monday, December 21st and Thursday, December 24th.
The winners will be announced live on BT daily from December 14-24
Cathie and David Tuck founded the Peterborough Huskies in 2013 as a way to give people of all ages who have disabilities the opportunity to participate in traditional group sports.
The team is open to males and females between the ages of five and 85 who have autism, ADHD, Downs Syndrome, Tourettes Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, visual or hearing impairments, or a medical condition. The Tucks’ son Criss came up with the team’s name.
The Peterborough Huskies is now the predominant special needs hockey team in the Kawarthas. Known as the “little team that grew”, they began in 2013 with nine players, a head coach (Chris Williams, who also provides promotional support for the team), and a handful of dedicated volunteers.
This year, the Huskies have Junior and Intermediate teams, a brand new learn-to-skate-program, more than 70 players, new volunteers, and a huge number of sponsors and supporters.
Upon learning of the Toyota Wish Giver contest, friend and admirer Anne Arnold — who’s a long-time community volunteer in her own right, with ongoing involvement in Women’s Business Network, Hospice Peterborough, Relay for Life, Bras around the Building, and other Canadian Cancer Society fundraising events — wanted to nominate Dave and Cathie to give something back to them.
“That team would not have these experiences without Dave and Cathie,” she explains.
“They have given so much of themselves — and their own financial resources — to support those kids and all of the organization. It’s their life. They are beyond dedicated and deserve this break.”
Here’s Anne’s nomination on the Toyota Wish Giver website:
Cathie and Dave give so many great opportunities to our community. They are the Founders of the Peterborough Huskies special needs hockey club.
In April 2013, David and Cathie put their dream of starting their own special needs hockey team in gear and formed the Peterborough Huskies, a team that accepts and encourages anyone regardless of age, ability or special need to play hockey but be part of a family.
Being on the ice and participating is important but equally providing inclusion, having fun and creating friendships that transition off the ice is a priority. But at some point during the year the season ends and many players return to a life of isolation away from the game and the friends that they love.
This is what Dave and Cathie have set out to change by providing social activities at least twice a month year round so that the family atmosphere they have worked so hard to establish never goes away.
Whether is it a charity fundraiser like a car wash or a social outing players and their families are always welcome and encouraged to join in. This gives the opportunity for the friendships to continue and blossom and also the time for parents to spend together talking about their children and about life in general.
Sometimes there are stigmas attached to a child or adult with special needs, the world is changing and through the power of social media people that may not have been aware are now understanding why a child may be acting a certain way or what their parents deal with on a daily basis. It is extremely important for David and Cathie to have the Huskies in the community and a large social media presence so that the public sees what these amazing group of players are capable of.
The Peterborough Huskies Special Needs Hockey Team is open to any male or female ages 5-85+ who may be on the Autism Spectrum, ADHD, Down Syndrome, Tourette’s Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, may be Visually or Hearing Impaired, may have a Medical Condition that prevents them from playing with traditional contact sports teams, etc.
