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12-year-olds Greyson and Marek Muzyka play for the Ste. Anne Aces hockey club. This holiday season, their team found a way to spread the cheer.
“Our hockey team went to go shovel some seniors’ decks because some weren't capable to do it. We don't want them to hurt themselves, so we went and shovelled it for them. It was a big team bonding. We had so much fun,” Greyson said.
Marek adds that “it was good for the team,” and that it brought them together.
Parents Steve Muzyka, who coaches the team, and Erin Muzyka say that they are “proud” of their kids’ passion for volunteering.
“Steve and I were passionate volunteers. We volunteer at our local museum. We volunteer through sports, all those sorts of things. To have them pick up that baton and carry it is a huge source of pride. Something that's easy for an able-bodied group of kids to get out and do, that saved somebody who maybe would have struggled to get through that shovelling, is awesome,” Erin said.
With more shovelling experience, Marek jokes that if his parents ask him to shovel, “they'll need to convince me, but I do it anyway.”
In addition to shovelling seniors’ decks, Greyson and Marek also wore costumes for Ste. Anne’s Main Street Christmas Event and visited the Villa to spend time greeting people in the community.
“They've really embraced this volunteerism at this age. I'm very proud of them,” Erin said.
Finally, Steve has a challenge for sports teams: “I want to put a challenge out there to all hockey organizations and sports organizations to get out there and volunteer in their communities as well.”
With files from Dave Anthony.