GYF Newsletter- Here’s What’s Coming Up!
week of January 16, 2023
Save The Dates….
January 19: Step Aeorbics in the Community Room
January 21: Griffins Tickets fundraiser purchase tickets HERE
January 22: Campbell Division Masterclass – sign up below!
January 21-22: Great Skate Weekend
January 27: Ferris Campus Visit + Bulldogs Game
January 29: Players Choice Game
February 4: GYF Blood Drive in the Community Room
February 5: Last day of Learn To Skate!
February 5: 2nd / 3rd grade Move Up Game
February 8: Grifins vs Sledwings Game @ Griff’s Icehouse
February 8: NO practice for Olympian and Adams Divisions.
Campbell practices @ a different time-check TeamSnap!!
February 12: Adams Charity Classic Games 1pm
February 19: Campbell Charity Classic Games 1pm
February 26: Norris Charity Classic Games 1pm
March 1: Returning player registration opens
March 4: Girls Game @ the Van Andel! more info to come!
March 5: Patrick Charity Classic Games 1pm
March 4: Star Wars Night- Griffins Ticket fundraiser- tickets available soon!
March 12: Patrick try-outs- by invite only
March 18: Last day of the Season!
________________________________________________________________________
What is this “Great Skate” I keep hearing about?
Presented by the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Foundation and Meijer, The Great Skate debuted in 2002 as a 24-hour ice skating marathon held at the outdoor Rosa Parks Circle ice rink downtown, with every Griffins player and coach skating for at least one hour around the clock with fans to raise money for the Griffins Youth Foundation.
This year, the Great Skate will run from Saturday January 21 at noon, until Sunday at 10pm. Come skate ’round the clock with your favorite Griffins Player (10pm Sat – 10pm Sun)! Admission is free, skating fee is $4 for adults, $2 for kids. Free skate rental!
This event is so much fun for everyone! But- it also requires LOTS of help from GYF families to be successful! We are in need of food donations as well as volunteers for the concession stand. If you are able to help in any way- please sign up!
Sign up to donate food for the Great Skate Concession Stand
Sign up to volunteer at the Great Skate
Players recieved a flyer about the Great Skate Winterfest weekend, but on the back of that flyer is a fundraising form. The top three fundraisers will receive a Meijer gift card. Our first place gift card has a value of $100, second place is $50 and third place is $25. Any player who raises at least $10 will be put into a drawing for a Meijer gift card!
_______________________________________________________________________
Sunday Extra Ice Time
This weeks extra ice time is a Masterclass for our Campbell Division skaters! Sign up is required and spots are limited, please sign up here!
_______________________________________________________________________
Let’s Get Steppin’!
Join us every Thursday in the Community Room from 5:30-6:30pm for an Xtreme Hip Hop Step Aerobics class! Cost is $10 per class. Let’s Get Steppin!
_______________________________________________________________________
Volunteers Needed
“Many hands make light work” I am sure you’ve heard staff say this over and over again…but it’s true!!! We are so grateful that we are able to offer hockey at no cost to so many families, but in order to do that, we ask that our GYF families give back by volunteering their time to GYF to help things run smoothly. If all families are doing their part- it’s less work for everyone! We have many different opportunities available for you to give your time back while you are at the rink, but sadly we are seeing many of the same people stepping up each week and a lot not volunteering at all- with over 400 players registered this season, this should not be happening at all. If you have not fulfilled your volunteer requirement yet this season, please take a look at the sign up’s below and sign up for something that works with your schedule!
Scoreboard/Game Announcer– 2 people needed for each game every week (total of 12 people each Saturday!) to help announce the game, run the scoreboard and fill out the scoresheet. Ideally- 1 person from each team that is playing should be running the booth each week! This is a fun and easy way to give back your time…and did I mention, you get the best seats in the rink!?
Concessions Help- The concession stand requires 18 volunteers each Saturday. The day is broken up into small increments of time which centers around the game times. Volunteers usually sign up for a time slot before or after their child plays. Families with multiple players in different divisions sometimes stay at the rink in between games, so that is a great time to volunteer as well. In no way do I expect you to miss seeing your child play because you are helping at the concession stand. Short on time? All of the items in our concession stand are donated by GYF famiies and 100% of all proceeds go to GYF. We are always in need of people to donate items! Please e-mail Eileen at programmanager@griffinskids.org if you would like to be added to either e-mail list to help with concessions.
50/50 Help at Home Griffins Game– Six volunteers are needed for every game. Each volunteer will receive three tickets (one for yourself & two for family or friends) and a parking pass to the game. Sellers must be at least 18 years of age, but younger children may accompany the seller to promote GYF to encourage ticket sales. You are expected to arrive one & a half hours before game time & your volunteer role ends after the second intermission is over. This is a fun way to fulfill your obligation to volunteer while helping to earn revenue for the foundation.
Education Room- If you like to stay warm and want to volunteer with kids young and old, the Education Room is a great place to be. Play games, do puzzles, help with crafts, read books, sweep floors or play referee- all help is appreciated! Stop by the Community Room and let Julie E. know you’d like to help!
Equipment Room- From laundry to helping organize equipment, there’s lots to do back in the equipment room each week that requires little to no experience! E-mail Julie G. (equipment@griffinskids.org) or stop in the back while youre at the rink and let her know you’d like to help!
_______________________________________________________________________
Ferris Campus Visit
On January 27th we are looking forward to taking a group of Griffins Youth Foundation players and their parents to Ferris State University for a campus tour and college hockey game. This is a great opportunity for prospective 10-12th graders to have a college visit experience and spend time with their teammates off-ice. There are 55 seats available- Ferris will be providing free transportation for us, as well as a campus tour, dinner and the opportunity to watch a Bulldogs hockey game.
The bus will leave the Belknap ice arena parking lot at 2pm. We ask that you arrive no later than 1:45pm so we can quickly take attendance and begin our trip on time. The hockey game is scheduled for 705pm and we will return to Belknap between 1030 and 11pm.
There are 2 places that you/your player(s) needs to sign up.
All attendees- parents and players sign up here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508054FA8A92FAA8-ferris
Also, prior to arriving on campus, each student (STUDENTS ONLY) attending the visit must complete the visit registration form found at the following link: https://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/admision/VisitRegistration/GroupVisit.htm
To register:
- Click “Register Now”
- Click on “Group Visit: GR Griffins Youth Foundation”
- Complete the registration form
- Click the green “Register” button
_______________________________________________________________________
Players Choice Game- Girls/Norris/Patrick Divisions
A few years ago staff members were approached by players with an idea for a game organized by the players for the players. Last year we made it happen and we are so excited to offer it again this year! Attached is a sign up for 30 skaters & 2 goalies in grades 9-13. RSVP is due by this Friday. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050D4CA4A929A4F58-players
The game is Sunday January 29th at 1:30pm and will follow pond hockey rules. Staff will pick two team captains this weekend from those who have signed up. Team captains will draft their team, choose their game jerseys, and have the ability to ask any (adult) coach within the Foundation regardless of division coached to be their supervising bench coach for this game. There will be no refs. It is a self governing game and players will simply be removed from the game if control is not shown. This game is designed to give our players a bit of independence, reward our captains for leadership skills shown and let our Norris, Patrick & Girl’s Divisions hang out together.
_______________________________________________________________________
It’s Pizza Time!
It’s pizza time! For the next 3 weeks, we are selling Pizza Kits to raise money for the Griffins Youth Foundation. To reach our goal and be successful, we need everyone’s help. It’s super easy to join the fun! Every kit we sell earns $6 profit and helps alot!
To get started follow this link to create your very own Seller page. You can customize your page, upload a video, create an avatar, and watch how many pizza kits you’ve sold. You’ll get your own special link to send to your friends and family so they can buy delicious pizza kits and support our fundraiser. Pizza Kits will be delivered directly to their home by FedEx, so send the link to your out of state family and friends, too. You can even post your Seller link on your social media pages.
_______________________________________________________________________
Community Room News
This weekends theme is Mighty Ducks! It’s Great Skate Weekend- come enjoy knee hockey and Mighty Ducks movies, decorate paper bags for Kids Food Basket, decorate some sweet treats to take home with you and read or take a book home about bears!
FAMILY FARE/SPARTAN STORE RECEIPTS:
Turn in your receipts in the education room– feel free to leave them on the counter Saturdays. Every receipt gets us closer to $1000. We currently have approx. $135,000 in receipts out of the$150,000 needed for our first $1000.
_______________________________________________________________________
GYF Blood Drive
GYF will once again be hosting a blood drive, on Saturday Feb 4th, in the community room from 10am-3pm. We have been given a goal of getting 50 people to commit to donating at this event! Please use this link to sign up for an appointment. Times are available every 5 minutes throughout this event. Please feel free to share with friends or family who may be interested!
_______________________________________________________________________
Griffins vs Sledwings- February 8th, 2023
Be sure to come show your support to our Sled Wings players on Wednesday February 8th! This is an annual event that showcases the skills of our Sled Wings players as they square off against Griffins players (who will also be on sleds!) right here at Griff’s Icehouse. Meet your favorite players and get their autographs prior to watching them tangle with the Sled Wings!
PLEASE NOTE! Due to this special event- Olympians and Adams Divisions will NOT have practice on Wednesday Feb. 8th! Campbell Division practices will be 5:00 and 5:55pm on the EAST rink!