Once again, the players and coaches of the midget boys Winnipeg Twins team spent a chilly December Saturday morning sorting, organizing and packing jackets, mitts, toques, scarves and boots at the local Koats for Kids warehouse. This volunteer commitment served as a way of giving back to the local community, while also helping build the players’ off-ice relationships.

Beginning as an optional volunteer initiative at the start of the season – in which players were informed of the difficult lifestyles and living conditions that many less-fortunate Manitoban children were dealing with – prompted the collection of countless warm winter coats and other gear/accessories to be donated to Koats for Kids. A total of 20 volunteers showed up on Saturday morning – the largest group ever to attend a packing session at Koats for Kids…. Certainly an experience that Program Manager, Donna Albak will not soon forget.

Along with physically coming down at 9:00 in the morning on a weekend to help prepare shipments, the gentlemen of the midget team also collected and transported coats to and from washing stations, sorted through pockets of freshly donated items, transferred bagged goods to and from outdoor shipping containers, prepared care packages, and organized ski pants, boots, jackets and mitts by colour, size and gender.

With the help of many family members, friends, colleagues and community members, the midget team donated a record amount of warm winter gear, and gained many insights into the every-day operations of local volunteer-driven establishments, such as Koats for Kids.

Well done gentlemen, well done.