Seth Vigdor
If you’ve never had a chance to go to a Flyers Wives Carnival, I strongly suggest that you find time to do so one year. I’ve always heard many great things about the event, but I was never able to attend one. That was until yesterday. I attended the event as a volunteer, so that I could see first hand the tremendous impact that the event has and I volunteered to see the smiles on the little kids faces.
The mission of the Flyers’ charities are as follows courtesy of their website.
Flyers Charities proudly supports a multitude of worthy non-profit organizations that provide educational and recreational resources to underserved youth, engage in important medical and healthcare research, and countless community development initiatives.”
I was stationed at the “Giant Chess” board and was amazed to see the strong showing from the little kids that came over. I expected most kids to just want to knock the pieces over just for the hell of it, but much to my delight, I was saw some serious competition from all who came over, much like the picture below. It was a battle between a father and his son. The father didn’t take it easy on his son, but he tried to guide him to make the smart moves. Even for a guy like me, it was one of the many touching moments of the day.
The set up next to me was an X-Box station that had NHL 2K15 and this as one would assume was a popular attraction. Kids of all ages and grown men of all ages did battle with each other. Games tend to bring the kids out of all of us.
The crowds gathered on the floor for a good cause and for a chance to meet some of their favorite players.
There were great jerseys for sale like the Ghost one below.
Business really started to pick up in my area, when there was an unexpected visitor. Wayne Simmonds popped up out of nowhere to get behind the counter of his Waynes Warriors section. Here’s a description of his own charity courtesy of his charity page.
Founded in 2012, Wayne’s Road Hockey Warriors (WRHW) was designed to support kids in the Scarborough community. Endorsed by Wayne Simmonds of Philadelphia Flyers, the WRHW hockey tournament allows kids ages 8-12 to play an expensive sport they may not have had the opportunity to play before. Inspired by Simmonds success, founder Brandon Sinclair and Anna Andranov saw the impact such an expensive sport can have on Scarborough’s youth. As hockey enrollment in the Toronto area continues to decrease due to costs, many talented players are left without the opportunity to pursue their goals and dreams as Simmonds did. By raising funds through an annual hockey tournament, charity events and community support we strive to provide the means and opportunities for underprivileged youth to play hockey. Our mission is to provide support and opportunities for youth to believe in their dreams and see them through.Through fundraising and community relationships we will inspire youth to set goals and achieve dreams that may seem impossible.”
As soon as he came to the counter, the humans flocked to him.
The fans love #WayneSimmonds! #FlyersWivesCarnival #NHL @PHL_Influencer pic.twitter.com/h9jQJImXKn
— Seth Vigdor (@SethVigdor) March 13, 2016
Simmonds was really enjoying himself too. He even came back to the counter for a second time before the day was over to sign more autographs.
Here are a couple more pics from an amazing day.
Kudos to the Flyers organization for putting this together year after year. Make sure you check next year’s event out as it has the Vigdor stamp of approval.
Here are some highlights, courtesy of CSN Philly.