The Los Angeles Kings will donate $1 million to the YMCA to help generate more interest in hockey among local youth, team officials announced Tuesday.
The donation will go to the YMCA's Los Angeles chapter over the next five years. The team also will provide 5,000 hockey sticks, with the help of Delta Air Lines.
The team made the announcement during a 50th anniversary event held in the Kings' honor during the Los Angeles City Council meeting.
"Our mission to grow the game of hockey begins at the grassroots level, and the YMCA is a perfect partner for us to help support these goals," said Luc Robitaille, the Kings' president of business operations and a former star player for the franchise.
"We want every child in this community to experience our great game, and with 26 locations in and around Los Angeles, they (the YMCA) have the ability to reach hundreds of thousands of kids each and every day,'' Robitaille said. "This program will make it easy to get sticks into kids' hands so they can eventually take the game from the ground to the ice."
