Kyle Myers
Ticats.ca
Thanks to Speroway and Tiger-Cats centre Marwan Hage, there will be a few less hungry families on Thanksgiving in Hamilton this year.
Hage and his Hage’s Heroes program – operated in partnership with Speroway, a Canadian non-profit aimed at helping the disadvantaged – has now fed over 10,000 families througout Canada. Wednesday’s event, which took place at the Ticats headquarters in downtown Hamilton, distributed 1,000 care boxes containing food and toiletries to individuals in the community.
“It’s a very positive day,” said Hage, who worked hands-on distributing the care packages. “This year is a very special year, we’ve fed 10,000 families through the Hage’s Heroes program, which is a very big milestone for us.”
Hage’s Heroes and Speroway have held food shares in Hamilton, Guelph, Moncton, and Hage’s hometown of Montreal, but Hage’s orrganization also provides Hamilton youth the opportunity to attend Ticats home games and meet with players. The two organizations also teamed up for a trip to El Salvador in the 2012 offseason, where they provided medical care and food supplies for locals.
According to Speroway Vice President David Peck, Speroway’s relationship with Hage is one which continues to grow and pay dividends for the organization.
“It’s been long enough that I’ve forgotten,” joked Peck. “We have such a great relationship with Marwan that we’re always looking forward to working with him, both here and in other ventures as well.”
Wednesday’s food drive in Hamilton gave Hage the opportunity to give back in the city, even though Hage and the Ticats have spent much of their time in Guelph.
“It’s extremely important, especially this year,” he said. “With us being outside of Hamilton, playing in Guelph, we had to make sure that we didn’t completely leave Hamilton. We’re going to do things outside the city, we went to El Salvador, we did a food drive in Guelph, but we had to make sure we did something here in the city.”
For Hage, the timing of the event is also important, as it comes just before Thanksgiving – a weekend in which food plays a especially significant practical and symbolic role.
“Historically we’ve always done our drive around Thanksgiving,” said Hage. “We could do it any other week, but we do it now to help people get through a tough time around the holidays.”
While distributing 1,000 boxes of food is a boost which can help families in a time of need, Peck was sure to emphasize the importance of Speroway’s other events and initiatives in the community, which are more targeted at long-term viability for individuals in need.
“Today is trying to come alongside others that are in need of one kind or another,” he said. “We’ve all been there somehow over the years. We want to offer this support over the next little while, but also look at different ways to partner with other organizations to fix some of the deeper needs.”
