The first year of Fill the Wagon Wednesday for the Sylvan Lake Gulls was a massive success.
As part of the initiative, the Gulls asked fans to bring in food items to donate to the Sylvan Lake Food Bank during the game on Wednesday, July 5.
While the amount of food wasn’t able to be counted or weighed, there was enough to fill the entire floor of the Gully Wagon, president and COO of the Sylvan Lake Gulls Aqil Samuel said.
Initiatives like this help to benefit members of the community and helps the team contribute to community well-being.
“There are families in need in the area and it’s just a way for us to engage with our fan base and work together to help some families that need it,” Samuel added.
Through the process of this event, the Gulls also got to work with some of the incredible people who operate the Sylvan Lake Food Bank.
“We met some incredible very big-hearted Food Bank staff through this process and they were grateful and excited to work with us on this,” he said.
While the Fill the Wagon initiative only took place during one game there is also other things the team is doing which benefits the food bank.
“Sylvan Lake RV, is our “Strikeout Sponsor” for this season and they are donating $5 for every Gulls strikeout at home this year. We really share the same community values that Jason and his team at Sylvan Lake RV have and we are happy to partner with them on this initiative,” Samuel said.
The Gulls also support a number of other organizations and Central Alberta charities through the Gulls Give Foundation.
“The Gulls Give Foundation gave back $100,000 from funding initiatives that they spearheaded last year and I know they are trending to a higher number this year. It is truly great to see what the Foundation is doing for Central Alberta charities.”
Due to the success of this year’s Fill the Wagon event it may be brought back for future seasons, Samuel said.
“We’ll review at the end of the season but based on what we have saw on Wednesday I’m sure it is something that we would like to do annually.”
The food donated during the game was delivered to the Food Bank on Thursday, July 6.
@sarahbaker
sarah.baker@blackpress.ca
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