Bobby Ryan usually takes to Twitter for some humorous back-and-forth with hockey fans, but on Monday night, Ryan’s social media presence provided a nice surprise.
Eric Doty, or Bonk’s Mullet if you follow him on Twitter, runs a fundraiser for kids in the Ottawa community and the Canadian Military Families Fund called Sens Money on the Board. Inspired by a similar campaign Columbus Blue Jackets fans did, the fundraiser lets Senators fans pledge a certain amount of money for in-game events. For example, one could donate $5 for every Clarke MacArthur goal or $0.50 for every Craig Anderson save.
On Monday, Bobby Ryan joined in on the fun.
https://twitter.com/b_ryan9/status/532031188735492096
Usually the charity campaign is only for certain games spread out every couple months or so, but for Ryan, an exception was made.
Ryan pledged $1,000 for every Kyle Turris goal in Tuesday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, and Turris pulled through.
This is the second time in the past two weeks that Ryan has made a significant contribution to the Ottawa community.
On October 31, news broke that Ryan had bought a season suite for patients at the local Children’s hospital (CHEO), for the next eight years; the duration of his contract in Ottawa. The name of the suite is Bobby Ryan’s All-Star Kids.
And for those of you who don’t know, suites don’t come cheap.
“The depth of financial commitment involved was not disclosed but suites can easily run north of $100,000 per year, which would peg the total value of Ryan’s pledge at close to $1-million over the eight-year term.” – Wayne Scanlan. Ottawa Citizen. Published: Oct. 31, 2014.
The work the Ottawa Senators players do around the community, and have done in the past, is some of the best around the NHL, plain and simple. Visiting local children’s hospitals, assisting in Ottawa hockey camps, donating endless amounts of money towards great causes, it’s no wonder this team is often known more for their contributions outside the rink, rather than their play on the ice.
On the hockey side of things, with three goals in 14 games, Ryan probably hasn’t gotten off to the start he wanted. But none of that even comes close to mattering when he’s making this kind of an impact on the community around him.
Good on ya, Bobby.
