Coach4Food crossing borders

Hedican seen here in the first year of the Coach4Food campaign back in 2005 coaching the St. Joseph-Scollard Hall Bears. Photo by Chris Dawson.

Tom Hedican's Coach4Food campaign is catching on big time as the New Jersey Devils have jumped on board and will be offering the unique program.

“The New Jersey Devils and Jersey Minor Hockey have asked me to start the program in the USA,” Hedican said in an email from the Frankfurt airport where he was waiting for his flight home to North Bay.

“The Devils owner, Jeff Vanderbeek, has generously donated the Devils practice facility at the Prudential Centre for me to run Coach4food with the assistance of Devils alumni doing clinics for food as well,” he added.

Hedican was inspired by New Jersey Native and Rock n' Roll icon Bruce Springsteen's charitable work with food banks.
The two met for the first time at a concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey this summer where Springsteen told Hedican to keep up the good the initiative that will be in its 4th year this December.

But it doesn’t end there.

Former North Bay Centennial coach and former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Mike Kelly is running a similar program in Prince Edward Island.

Like his longtime friend Tom Hedican, Kelly is offering his hockey expertise to help collect food bank donations in the Maritime province. Hedican and Kelly coached together with both the London Knights and the North Bay Centennials and have stayed in touch even when Kelly went to the Pacific Coast and Hedican traveled overseas.

Kelly decided to get on board when he found out about the sudden passing of Hedican’s mother Shirley last month.

“She was an absolutely lovely person,” Kelly told the Guardian in PEI.

Kelly has contacted the presidents of all 21 minor hockey associations in the province, offering to share his skill and knowledge with young players.

He plans to get about 30 players on the ice at a time for one-hour skills clinics.

The cost is three non-perishable food items per player.

“You end up getting more than you give," Kelly said of the unique food drive.

Last year Hedican’s amazing North Bay Food Bank fundraiser raised a record 21,881 pounds of food.

At one point he was wondering how it can get any bigger.

Well Tom, you’ve just got your answer.