Senators Community Foundation re-establishes its vital fundraising role

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At various points during the past several years, the Ottawa Senators have used terms including “rebuilding”, “rebooting” and “rebranding” as part of the extended process to end their seven-year itch to return to the NHL playoffs.

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Interestingly enough, those words also serve to characterize the successful revitalization of the club’s charitable arm, an invaluable community resource that offers cash, opportunities and hope for disadvantaged children and youth in the National Capital Region.

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The Senators Community Foundation raised $1.4 million in 2023 and hopes to top that when the final 2024 fundraising numbers are complete. The foundation also plays a vital goodwill role in the relationship between the Senators and the city as a whole.

“One of the gifts of being with the Senators foundation is the philanthropy side, giving me insight into a wide variety of gaps in the community,” said foundation president Jacqueline Belsito, who was hired in November 2022 after an extended stint with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario where she helped raise millions in funds for equipment and services.

“Collectively, we can make a difference with a broader group of youth. People were out of the habit during COVID. It gives me an appreciation of the difference the foundation can make.”

Indeed, it has been an impressive turnaround following an awkward, uneven stretch of several years for Senators-related charity organizations.

In July 2020, former Senators owner Eugene Melnyk severed ties with what was then known officially as the Ottawa Senators Foundation.

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Melnyk then involved himself in the charitable arm of the organization, which typically works independent of team ownership. One of the many clashes involved Melnyk wanting to use fundraising dollars to help support his own organ donation foundation based in Toronto, rather than for Ottawa-based charities, which had always been central to the charity cause.

In turn, some former Ottawa Senators Foundation employees launched the Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation, but the group was not legally permitted to use the Senators logo and name in its efforts.

That, coupled with the inherent difficulties of raising cash during the pandemic, made for a bumpy fundraising scene overall.

The only steady stream of revenue remaining from the Senators’ existing charity arm came through 50/50 draws during games at the Canadian Tire Centre.

After Melnyk died in March 2022, however, the Senators’ relationships with the corporate and charitable groups in the city improved dramatically and a reshuffling of charity associations occurred.

The Ottawa-Gatineau Youth Foundation linked up with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group, which oversees the Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa 67’s, and other events at TD Place.

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The Senators Community Foundation officially rebranded in September 2022. Once Belsito was hired, in the midst of the drawn out sale of the team, she began the revitalization process by putting a new charity team in place, including hiring a new board of directors.

“It was a professional opportunity I couldn’t pass up, the ability to make a difference for children and youth and CHEO had shaped me in a significant way,” she said. “We had to re-establish credibility and confidence with donors and corporate partners. We are committed to doing good in the community.”

The Bell/TSN telethon at the Canadian Tire Centre before Sunday’s game against the New York Islanders was the latest grand fundraising effort. The group answering phones included Senators alumni, the wives and girlfriends of current Senators players and actress Annie Murphy, best known for her role on Schitt’s Creek.

The big-picture aim is to support disadvantaged children and their families in three areas: wellness through sport, wellness through care and wellness through access.

“We want to get kids outside, active, and all forms of hockey are emphasized, along with other sports, too,” said Belsito. “For kids who play sports, their mental health is better, their social skills improve.”

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The reach of the foundation goes well beyond sports, including the relationships with CHEO and Roger Neilson House, which go back decades.

Belsito is proud of the connection with the Canadian Armed Forces, helping children in military families who need speech and physical therapy.

The foundation supports breakfast school programs and has also helped fund a 24-hour crisis support line with the Youth Services Bureau, where those in immediate need can reach out to talk to a trained expert.

“That’s a program that can actually save a life,” Belsito said.

Back in March, new Senators owner Michael Andlauer pledged that the foundation would offer an additional $1 million each to Roger Neilson House and the start-up of Maison Papillon, a similar palliative pediatric care facility based in Cantley.

It was another sign that the Senators are, quite literally, trying to build bridges in establishing strong connections in the Outaouais.

“It’s a very generous donation,” said Josiane Lavoie, project administrator for Maison Papillon. “It’s a phenomenal gesture to show (the Senators) support on both sides of the (Ottawa) river.”

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Currently, families in the Outaouais who are in desperate need of pediatric palliative care need to travel to Roger Neilson House, where services are largely in English. The closest option for French-speaking families is in Montreal.

The hope is the new facility, near water and close to nature, can be up and running early in 2026.

“We are trying to add life to days where it’s not possible to add days to life,” said Lavoie. “This shows the strength of the relationship with the Senators. It goes above and beyond the dollar signs.”

Adam Joiner, CEO of Boys and Girls Club Ottawa, offers similar sentiments.

The Boys and Girls Club has had a long association with the foundation and Joiner says the Senators’ involvement is fundamental in an operation that costs $4.5 million to $5 million to operate each year.

“They are a very good partner, it’s not just financial,” said Joiner, whose clubhouses in the city run the gamut of free services, from a competitive sports league to homework, music, art and cooking classes. Every child who enters a clubhouse receives a snack and/or meal.

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“Support from the Senators is why we can fund certain projects,” said Joiner. “It’s a constant challenge. These are tough times and the challenges are significant. The needs have never been greater than they are now. The foundation makes a huge impact. We feel very fortunate we were picked as one of the organizations.”

Tkachuk’s Captains, a project with the Boys and Girls Club spearheaded by Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and his wife, Emma, runs independently from the foundation, but Joiner says it’s in keeping with the overall message in the club’s charitable relationships with the team.

“It’s about team building, commitments, relationships,” he said. “A lot of things similar to a hockey team, with parallel skills.”

kwarren@postmedia.com

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