The hockey community is renowned for rallying around those in need of support. So it was on Wednesday night when Pennridge and Quakertown came together for a hockey game that was about much more than what happened on the rink.
In conjunction with their regularly scheduled SHSHL matchup at Hatfield Ice, the Rams, with help from the Panthers, held a fundraiser for two Pennridge students. Lexi and Abigail Boleski, who were involved in an automobile accident last Friday. Both were hospitalized and Abigail required surgery.
The sisters are acquainted with members of the Pennridge hockey team.
Pennridge junior Blake Stewart helped organize the effort. “All of us felt really bad,” he said, “but my buddy (and teammate) Conrad Frisch wanted to do something to help this girl out and I was totally on board. We brought the idea of having a 50-50 raffle to the board and promoting it to get a good amount of kids from Pennridge and some from Quakertown to come out to the game.”
The plan came together on Wednesday night. The proceeds from the evening, nearly $1,600, were donated to a Go Fund Me page that was set up in support of the Boleski family.
The two officials who worked the game, Kevin Vena and Christian Haas, donated their game fees to support the effort.
As of early Friday afternoon, over $25,000 had been donated through the site with a goal of $30,000.
Glenn Stewart, Blake’s father, sits on the board of the Pennridge Ice Hockey Club. “We are so proud of the boys pulling this together in two days, not only Blake and Connor but the entire Pennridge team did this all on their own. We have a great group of kids and community.”
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