Skating into the Spirit of Giving: Ice Flyers Team Wraps Holiday Cheer for Valerie’s House
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Pensacola Ice Flyers visited Valerie’s House on Tuesday afternoon after their off-ice training session. The team saw Valerie’s House post on Facebook needing volunteers to gift wrap for the upcoming holidays and jumped to action.
Valerie’s House’s mission is to help children and families work through the loss of a loved one together and go on to live fulfilling lives. Their organization aims to ensure no child grieves alone.
Players and staff wrapped gifts that will help 300 children and their caregivers that Valerie’s House serves in the Pensacola community. The gifts were provided by community members who contributed through Angel Trees presented in Hancock Whitney Bank and InHer Physique Physical Therapy and will be gifted to the families this Saturday at their holiday party.
Crista Brandt, Director of the Pensacola chapter, emphasized the importance of their volunteers and the time they dedicate to helping Valerie’s House grow and hold the ability to help even more children. Wrapping these gifts was a task that they thought would take three days, but with the added help of the Ice Flyers, the staff at Valerie’s House were able to knock it out in a few hours.
After they completed the wrapping, players wrote inspirational messages and signed the back of copies of the team holiday photo to include with the presents. “The best is yet to come, always believe in yourself”, “Believe in yourself. Believe in your ability to overcome any obstacles.”, and “You are strong!” are just some of the quotes children will find with their Christmas gifts.
Jennifer Elzweig, Escambia County Program Manager, reflected on the evening saying “Seeing the Ice Flyers wrap gifts and write personal, encouraging notes for our kids, is a reminder of how much our community truly cares. The kids will feel a sense of joy and connection, knowing their presents were wrapped with so much heart by their local heroes. By showing up, these guys are helping our families remember that they are not alone on their grief journey.”
To learn more about Valerie’s House and ways you can help their mission, visit their website: https://valerieshouse.org.
