Hockey night in Hopedale: Trio team up to donate equipment to town with new outdoor rink

Some staff with Newfoundland and Labrador Schools joined forces to outfit the residents of Hopedale with hockey gear, in order to celebrate the opening of the community's new — and first — outdoor rink.

Susan Pennell is a guidance councillor with N.L. Schools who works virtually from Paradise. She covers schools in the Labrador communities of Nain, Hopedale and Black Tickle, and travels to the coast about six times a year.

Sophia Hewitt and Jonathan Guy, who formerly taught in Hopedale, are now based in Deer Lake.

Together they combined efforts to drum up donations of used hockey gear for the town. 

"I know that a lot of the kids don't necessarily have access to gear, so I figured it would be a good starting point to do something for the communities that I work with," Pennell told CBC News.

"I am hoping to build on that and target Nain and Black Tickle next."

The team's effort worked. More than 450 kilograms of equipment was shipped out of Paradise alone, all through PAL Airlines, which covered the entire bill. 

Some of the gear has already landed in Hopedale, and Pennell hopes the remainder will get there before Christmas and the official opening of the outdoor rink.

"There was a really big outpouring of thanks from the community. I think everybody is really excited to get to use the rink, for one, but also to have some extra gear to hand around to families," she said.

"I'm hoping that it increases use of the rink for the community."

LISTEN | Hopedale AngajukKak Marjorie Flowers speaks with Labrador Morning about the town's new outdoor rink: 

Labrador Morning9:05New outdoor rink in Hopedale

Hopedale has a new place to skate outdoors! AngajukKak Marjorie Flowers says it isn't just a rink, it's a place to gather. In fact, she says it's the "best Christmas gift we could ever have!" We hear the details.

And Pennell isn't stopping at hockey.

She's currently the vice-president of Paradise Minor Baseball and is watching a grassroots movement — started by another teacher who has also since moved on — to build the game in Hopedale.

"If I can find ways to contribute in varying avenues, I'll look into that and look at the needs of each community to see if I can figure out something creative to do for each one," Pennell said.

"The coast is beautiful. I love visiting there, the kids are phenomenal and anything I can to help contribute to an activity for them is something I'm on board for helping with, for sure."

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