A London, Ont, youth hockey team is calling for community support to help it reach its good deed goal.
The U13 London Devilettes is among 11 regional finalists in the Canada-wide Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup. The team is also the only one from Ontario.
The Cup asked teams across Canada to pitch an idea that’ll benefit the community. The winner will receive $100,000 for their charity of choice.
For our @ChevroletCanada #GoodDeedsCup entry, the London Devilettes U13-4 hockey team partnered with @BlackGirlHockey to try and make hockey more inclusive! We also partnered with @Film_Stars and Canadian Training Institute to create opportunities to keep the momentum going! pic.twitter.com/SwU3qYxJ3c
— London Devilettes U13-4 Coach Mike Vilon (@VilonMike) January 29, 2021
“Our team decided to partner with the Black Girl Hockey Club, (the) Film Star Project and the Canadian Training Institute to help create an online community that will help other young Black girls stay in the game,” said several Devilettes players in its pitch video.
The team’s goalie, 12-year-old TaliaRose Tamborro, received the top scholarship with Black Girl Hockey Club, a non-profit organization that focuses on making hockey more inclusive for Black girls.
“(When) I got the call (about the scholarship), it was breathtaking,” said TaliaRose’s mother Michelle while speaking with 980 CFPL’s Mike Stubbs on London Live.
“What it meant to us was peace of mind for goalie equipment for the upcoming year (so) we can concentrate on other things.”
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For TaliaRose, whose hockey dream is to play for Team Canada one day, making it into the regional finalists of the Good Deeds Cup felt incredibly rewarding.
“It was nice to see all of my team get together to do something so amazing to help our community,” she said.
“I love helping people out, (so) it makes me so happy to see other people happy and to know (we’re) helping other people.”
Devilettes Head Coach Mike Vilon says the team found out they made it into the regional finals last Saturday night during Hockey Night in Canada.
“I’ve been involved in the Good Deeds Cup for (almost) five years, and I’ve never come close to being a regional finalist,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I’m still in shock.”
TaliaRose says she and her mom were jumping up and down with joy, “and we were screaming!”
The Devilettes is now focused on making it to the finals, which requires community support.
People can vote for the hockey team online at www.chevrolet.ca/en/good-deeds-cup until Feb. 24.
The top three finalists will be announced on March 20.
“You can vote every single day, so I encourage you and everyone you know to do it as much as you can,” said Vilon.
