The Johnstown Hockeyville Committee today donated a half-ton of food to St. Vincent De Paul’s Food for Families, responding to the food pantry’s urgent need for donations. The donation is enough to provide 833 meals for the area's hungry.
The donated products, comprised primarily of Kraft products, were collected as part of an ongoing food drive spanning February through March in conjunction with Johnstown’s bid to become Kraft Hockevyille USA. Johnstown was named a finalist in the national competition on Saturday, and the first round of voting begins tomorrow.
Donations were collected at a variety of events, including Johnstown Tomahawks games and Hockeyville rallies at area businesses such as Chestnut Dental, the Tribune Democrat, AAA, CTC, 1st Summit Bank, Planet Ice, McDonald’s, Conemaugh Hospital, Northwest Savings Bank, Richard M. Kastelic and Associates, JWF and the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies.
Bishop McCort, Richland, and Greater Johnstown and Pennsylvania Highlands Community College are among the schools that contributed to the drive. The Johnstown Warriors and Johnstown Jets youth hockey programs also made significant donations to the food drive.
“We are thrilled to have had such a generous show of support from the many businesses and organizations who have partnered with the Tomahawks to support Johnstown’s bid to become Kraft Hockeyville,” said Chad Mearns, the Tomahawks Director of Marketing and Communications. “Of course, much of the credit also goes to Tomahawks fans, who continuously donated Kraft products throughout the final eight games of our season.”
Other Johnstown-area charities will also receive separate donations from the Hockeyville food drive.
Voting for first round of the Kraft Hockeyville contest begins at 12:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 14 and continues through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, April 16. Votes can be cast by clicking on Johnstown’s link at KraftHockeyville.com, calling toll free 1-855-255-5975, or by texting “Cambria” to 35350. Individuals can vote 50 times per method, per day.
If Johnstown advances to the next round, Johnstown will be guaranteed a minimum of $40,000 in rink upgrades. The contest’s grand prize includes $150,000 in rink upgrades, as well as the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game at the Cambria County War Memorial.