Blaze Hockey Kids4Kids, an award-winning community program created to help raise awareness for Gillette Children’s and encourage youth hockey players throughout Minnesota to raise funds for kids with disabilities and complex medical conditions, returns for an eighth season. This innovative initiative is a collaboration between Blaze Credit Union, the Minnesota Wild, Wild Captain Jared Spurgeon, and Gillette Children’s in. Since the inception of the program, youth hockey teams have raised over $200,000 for patients and their families at Gillette Children's.
Blaze Hockey Kids4Kids inspires youth hockey teams to community service through developing their own creative fundraisers on behalf of Gillette Children's, helping kids who may not be able to play hockey due to complex medical conditions or injuries. Teams raising $500 or more qualify to win a one-of-a-kind team party in a suite at the Minnesota Wild — Dallas Stars game on March 21, 2026.
The winning team, selected at random, will participate in a post-game meet and greet with Hockey Kids4Kids Program Ambassador Jared Spurgeon, additional Minnesota Wild players, and team personnel. They will also receive merchandise from the Wild and Blaze.
“We are so excited for another year of Hockey Kids4Kids and working with our incredible partners at the Minnesota Wild. It’s a privilege to help local youth hockey teams as they support the kids and their families receiving care at Gillette Children’s,” said Blaze CEO/President Dan Stoltz. “The ongoing success and impact of Hockey Kids4Kids is a positive reflection of what makes our communities, particularly the Minnesota hockey community, so special. I encourage every youth hockey team to get involved and help support the tremendous work being done at Gillette Children’s.”
Blaze Hockey Kids4Kids has been honored with multiple awards including the Minnesota Wild’s “Nordy” Award for Partner Community Engagement and the Minnesota Credit Union Network’s (MnCUN) Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award.
Hockey Kids4Kids will run from Saturday, November 1, 2025, through Friday, March 13, 2026. Any youth hockey team governed by the Minnesota State High School League and/or Minnesota Hockey, the official governing board of youth hockey in the state, is eligible to participate. Details and registration information can be found at hockeykids4kids.org.
Participating teams and donors are encouraged to help spread the word about the campaign via social media using the hashtag #hockeykids4kids.
About Gillette Children's
Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Gillette Children’s care for patients who have some of the most complex, rare and traumatic conditions in pediatric medicine, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, spina bifida, fibula hemimelia, proximal femoral focal deficiency, and hydrocephalus. Children who have disabilities and complex medical needs—and their families—have been at the center of our mission for nearly 125 years. Learn more about how we’ve built on our long history to set the standard of care for some of the most challenging childhood conditions at gillettechildrens.org
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