On September 13, second-year students from Durham College’s (DC) Sport Administration (two-year)/Sport Management (three-year) program presented a cheque for $15,000 to Durham Outlook, the organization that operates St. Vincent’s Kitchen in Oshawa. The students raised the money by organizing a Hockey Helps the Homeless (HHTH) hockey tournament which took place on March 24 at the Campus Ice Centre at Simcoe St. and Conlin Rd. The funds will be used to support the construction of a brand-new facility to feed those in need.

Hockey Helps the Homeless is a national charity working toward a future where every Canadian has a place to call home. Although the charity has operated a collegiate division to help colleges and universities run events, the DC event was entirely unique in that it was part of the curriculum embedded in the course, Sport & Event Marketing, taught by Nadine Lamarche, a professor and program co-ordinator with the college’s School of Business, IT & Management.

A group of 15 of Lamarche’s students ran the event and did all the work including managing logistics, securing sponsors, negotiating ice-time rates, obtaining prizes for the silent auction, overseeing the risk-management aspect, and of course, managing the flow of tournament day. As sports and charity work are so closely linked, Lamarche has seen that this kind of marketing experience is very important for the professional development of students and gives them skills and connections that they will use in their future sport management careers.

With the success of DC’s HHTH event, faculty is moving ahead to provide even more opportunities for sport management students to become involved with non-profit organizations and benefit from the experiential learning that is a highlight of the DC student experience. Their next HHTH tournament is already on the calendar for March 23, 2018! More information is available on the Hockey Helps the Homeless website.