The Saanich Braves will need to play a squeaky clean game in their upcoming Friday the 13th tilt against their rival Victoria Cougars.
Lucky for the Braves, they’ve donated more than 400 tickets to the local non-profit Soap for Hope, who are selling them for $5 each (compared to the normal price of $9 for adults, $7 for seniors).
The game, which is at 6:30 p.m. in Pearkes arena, will benefit Soap for Hope, a local initiative that supplies 57 shelters on Vancouver Island with five-piece hygiene kits.
“We’re calling it lucky Friday, instead of unlucky Friday the 13th, and are offering 13 prizes for a raffle to anyone who donates a hygiene product and shows their ticket stub,” said Soap for Hope program co-ordinator Bryce Reynolds.
Reynolds and volunteers are also offering three more prizes in the traditional chuck-a-puck-contest, and will be selling a Cup-for-Hope Starbucks mug, with some including a gift card.
The hygiene product needed to enter the raffle is as simple as a bar of soap or a razor, and could yield a gift card to Sam’s Deli, Starbucks, Coastline Surf, Flavour, Wanna Waffle, Cold Comfort and Melting Moments.
First prize for the chuck-a-puck contest wins a private box for 10 people at a Victoria Grizzlies game.
The monies raised go towards the infrastructure and packaging to support Soap for Hope’s hygiene program. In the first six months of 2017 its reprocessed and donated 54,047 bars of soap and 52,387 hygiene products to 57 shelters on the Island, as well as nine international shipments to countries in need.
“We set up our recycling program with local hotels to collect their gently used hygiene products,” Reynolds said. “Our bread and butter is creating five-piece hygienic kits with a bar soap, body wash, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner.”
That was based on 4,293 volunteer hours at the Soap for Hope Esquimalt warehouse, where bars of soap are scraped, shampoo and lotion bottles are topped up, and the kits are packaged.
Soap for Hope is also holding a fundraiser at the Boston Pizza in the Saanich Plaza on Wednesday, Oct. 11. A percent of proceeds of all food sales between 5 p.m. and midnight will be donated to Soap for Hope to purchase hygiene products for Our Place’s Project Connect, which coincides with Global Handwashing Day.
“We are trying to raise $8,000 to purchase hygiene products to build 800 comprehensive hygiene kits to donate to Our Place Society on Oct. 12,” Reynolds said.
Braves games are always free to youth in their Saanich Minor Hockey Association sweater.
Tickets are available by contacting Reynolds at bryce@disasteraid.ca. People can also make donations at youcaring.com/projectconnect-942964
