Coach4food total continues to mount

A weekend of Coach4Food practices, anonymous sponsors and random donations, has pushed the total to within 13,000 pounds of last year's record hau,l with just days remaining.

The Greco's Midget A Trappers, sponsored by Investor's Group and a donation from Paul and Karen Cook, added 1,594 pounds to Tom Hedican's 2010 drive for the North Bay Food Bank.

The Powassan Minor Hockey Association then participated in this year's fundraiser, bringing in another 2,878 pounds, with sponsorship from Bill Demarco, Antebi Professional Coaching and Consulting, and a second anonymous donation.

The Y Titans Swim club then added another 151 pounds, followed by donations equalling 375 pounds each from both Lucenti, Orlando, Ellies law firm and the labor and delivery staff of North Bay General Hospital.

More random donations totalling 943 pounds were then dropped onto this year's drive.

Combined, these added 6,316 pounds to the previous total, to drive Coach4Food to 63,893 pounds.

Coach4Food, whereby Hedican puts local hockey and ringette teams through a series of European professional and NHL skill drills, was inspired by rock star Bruce Springsteen's work with food banks in Canada and the United States. The practices will continue until Dec. 23 when the grand total will be announced. Last year was a record year for Hedican's fundraiser, bringing in 76,319 pounds of food and monetary donations.