{"id":26167,"date":"2004-01-06T16:37:21","date_gmt":"2004-01-06T22:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2004\/01\/06\/ecac-duo-lives-up-to-humanitarian-status\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:55:35","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:55:35","slug":"ecac-duo-lives-up-to-humanitarian-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2004\/01\/06\/ecac-duo-lives-up-to-humanitarian-status\/","title":{"rendered":"ECAC Duo Lives Up to Humanitarian Status"},"content":{"rendered":"
“In an era of ever-increasing ego display, when so many of today’s athletes are sending the wrong message to our children and when success often seems measured solely by dollar signs and contract signings, it is time to call attention to individuals who embody all that is, and can be, right with sport.”<\/em><\/p>\n
With those words, The Hockey Humanitarian Foundation sets forth in its mission to honor the work and accomplishments of exemplary individuals in men’s and women’s collegiate hockey. It does so with the organization’s annual Hockey Humanitarian Award.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Foundation announced the 14 nominees for the 2004 award and included in that list were two members of ECAC Division I men’s hockey programs: Clarkson’s Trevor Edwards and Harvard’s Rob Fried.<\/p>\n
Edwards and Fried are the first individuals ever to be nominated from their respective schools. (The Golden Knights received recognition as a team for their community service during the January 1998 ice storm that ravaged the North Country.)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rob Fried<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
“It is a nice honor,” says Edwards, “but it’s not why you do the things you do. It is nice for someone else to notice the time and hard work that goes into it. I guess it means you’re making an impact.”<\/p>\n
“The nomination is exciting,” adds Fried, “especially with the quality of the other candidates.”<\/p>\n
According to its mission statement, the Foundation’s desire is “to acknowledge the accomplishments of personal character, scholarship, and the giving of oneself off the ice to the larger community as well. The Humanitarian Award is meant to be seen as a true measure of a person’s worth, not just as an athlete, but as someone who embodies those values that merit our recognition.”<\/p>\n
Enter Edwards and Fried.<\/p>\n
The seniors are leaders on their respective teams who have taken extra steps to be more than just student-athletes. They are examples of the kind of commitment to humanity that we all wish existed in more abundance.<\/p>\n
At the end of last season, Edwards joined forces with teammate Jean Desrochers to start “Knights for Kids,” a charity organization to benefit the youth of the North Country of New York. “Knights for Kids” serves as the focal point for all charitable work undertaken by members of the Clarkson hockey program.<\/p>\n
“We wanted to get the guys more involved with the community,” says Edwards. “Not through the coaches or boosters, but directly.”<\/p>\n
To that end, “Power Play Goals for Kids” emerged as the lead fundraising project for the 2003-04 season. All proceeds raised through this new project go to Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, a week-long, volunteer-based residential camp for children ages 7-17 battling the effects of cancer.<\/p>\n
Located in Colchester, Vt., Camp Ta-Kum-Ta provides an environment that promotes individual confidence and self-esteem, while assisting children in gaining a positive outlook on their situation. The camp gives children enduring similar challenges an opportunity to meet one another, as well as provides motivation and inspiration to continue fighting through their illness. One third of its participants come from Northern New York.<\/p>\n