St. Louis Blues to use 50/50 raffle to benefit California wildfire victims

The St. Louis Blues will use Monday’s 50/50 charity raffle to benefit victims of the California wildfires, in what’s become a heartwarming pattern within the NHL.

In light of the notorious wildfires that have spread across Southern California, the St. Louis Blues have decided to do their part to pitch in, and announced that funds raised in Monday’s 50/50 raffle for their game against the Los Angeles Kings will be used to benefit victims of the California wildfires.

Proceeds raised from the 50/50 raffle will go directly to the benefit of the United Way Disaster Relief Fund, an organization that supports low-income families affected by the wildfires, which have damaged more than 110,000 acres in Southern California and continues to spread.

For those unfamiliar, the 50/50 raffle is a charity/lottery combination run by most sports teams during home games. Fans can purchase tickets often in quantities of three, five, ten, or fifty at a time, with each individual ticket costing less with the more you buy at a time.

Every cent made from each ticket sale goes towards the overall prize pool, and the one with the winning ticket takes home 50 percent  of the winnings, while the half goes to the team’s charity or, in the Blues’ case, a charity of their choosing.

The Blues are also using the funds made from the Blues for Kids silent auction that will take place during the game to benefit the United Way Disaster Relief Fund.

The Blues act of kindness is just another example of teams putting aside the competition, and helping each other out.

Earlier in the month, the Washington Capitals did something similar for the city of Pittsburgh with their 50/50 raffle to benefit the victims of the shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

The Capitals used the 50/50 raffle in their 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins to raise money to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, raising over $19,825 for both the charity and the person holding the winning ticket.

What started as a kind gesture between two bitter rivals, turned into something much more even after the game.

The anonymous fan who won the other half of the raffle, a Capitals season ticket holder, choose to waive his prize and donated all of his winnings to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, meaning that the raffle had actually raised $38,570 in just one evening.

The fact this has become a growing trend in the NHL to see other teams doing their part to help out their opponents in wake of tragedies affecting their homes is heartwarming to see.

Setting the precedent that each team should help each other in the NHL community has a trickle down affect into our every day lives. It can encourage others to help out anyway they can, while also reminding us these things are bigger than sports.

Sports can be our escape to get away from these tragedies, but that doesn’t mean that makes them go away. Using the platform to get support and honor the victims of these events is always the right way to go about it, and little by little helps make the world a better place.