How you can help the families of the Humboldt Broncos

By Special to MoneySense on April 9, 2018
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

All the ways to pitch in no matter where you are

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Kevin Garinger, President of the Humboldt Broncos, speaks during a vigil at the Elgar Petersen Arena, home of the Humboldt Broncos, to honour the victims of a fatal bus accident in Humboldt, Sask. on Sunday, April 8, 2018. (Jonathan Hayward/CP)

In the wake of the Humboldt Broncos’ bus crash that killed 15 and injured nine, the small hockey city in central Saskatchewan has seen an outpouring of support from across the country. Families of the dead stretched across three provinces, most of whom had to travel to a hospital in Saskatoon, and so far, only one player from the bus has been discharged. Across the country, Saskatchewanians and Canadians everywhere are looking for ways to show to support the hockey community. Here are a few ways people can give back:

GoFundMe

As of Monday afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign had raised nearly $5.5 million for the families injured by the crash. The fundraiser was organized by Sylvie Kellington, a Humboldt resident whose son plays for the local bantam-A Broncos—a league reserved for 13 and 14-year-olds. The online account has generated more than 73,000 separate donations, and is now the largest GoFundMe fundraiser ever done in Canada. Donations, both large and small, are accepted.

MORE ON MACLEAN’S: Humboldt GoFundMe account expresses a nation’s grief in dollars and cents

Donate blood

In late February, Canadian Blood Services called on people in Saskatoon to donate more blood. There had been over 1,100 appointments that needed to be filled by early March to ensure that patients had access to blood. On Saturday morning, just hours after the team bus carrying the Broncos crashed into a semi-trailer, dozens of people were lined up outside Saskatoon’s Blood Service Clinic to support victims. Locals reported that the clinic had reached its capacity over the weekend—only accepting walk-ins from rural folks, while city-dwellers were forced to make an appointment.

Sign up to become an organ donor

Among the players killed in the crash, Logan Boulet died late Saturday after fighting for his life in hospital. Boulet’s family said their son became an organ donor as soon as he turned 21, and his family reported on social media that all of his vital organs were matched with six different people. “All counted, six people will receive the gift of life from Logan,” Boulet’s godfather Neil Langevin wrote on Facebook. People in Saskatchewan can get their red organ and tissue sticker for their provincial health cards by calling the Saskatchewan Transplant Program at 1-306-655-5054.