On Tuesday night, Flyers Hall of Fame member Mark Howe and his brother, Marty, will present $50,000 worth of donations to Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education on behalf of the Howe Foundation. The donation is in loving memory and to honor the respective legacies of their late parents, Gordie and Colleen Howe. Half of the donation is purposed for the Mr. Hockey Scholarship fund, named for Gordie, and will be earmarked for the Snider Hockey boys’ program. The other $25,000 is for the Mrs. Hockey Scholarship, named in Colleen’s honor, and earmarked for the Snider Hockey girls’ program.
“We felt this was a fitting way to honor our mom and dad. Our mom was a trailblazer for women in the business side of hockey and helping women rise through the ranks of the sports business, through education, hands-on experience and networking opportunities. Our dad believed deeply in getting kids get involved in sports; not just hockey, but in whatever sport is of interest to young people. He felt that sports builds character, builds confidence and opens doors in life, whether in terms of education. It doesn’t matter if the person goes on the play professionally or not. Sports can be an important part of someone’s formative years,” Mark Howe said.
“When you look at the purpose and impact of Snider Hockey and the mission statement of the Howe Foundation, our goals are pretty closely aligned. It was actually my son, Nolan, who originally suggested that we work with Snider Hockey. It also made sense because everyone who worked with or for Mr. Snider, including myself, had a lot of respect and admiration for him. Snider Hockey is his legacy project that meant the most to him. Last but not least, Snider Hockey matches all donations to a two-dollars-to-one basis, and this is a great way to get the most possible mileage out of our donation,”
With Snider Hockey’s matching contribution, the Howe Foundation’s Mr. Hockey and Mrs. Hockey scholarship donations balloon from $50,000 to $150,000 ($75,000 apiece for the Mr. Hockey and Mrs. Hockey Scholarship donations to Snider Hockey).
Via the Howe Foundation, the Howe family has been donating to Snider Hockey since 2019. This year’s donation, however, is the largest one yet.
“We hope to keep this as an annual tradition of sorts,” Mark Howe said.
Note: As with donations from other individual Flyers Alumni or third-party donations in which Flyers Alumni participate, the Howe Foundation donations to Snider Hockey are separate from the direct fundraising the Flyers Alumni Association does. Within the past year, the Flyers Alumni reached $1 million in direct donations to Snider Hockey toward making good on the $2 million pledge to Snider Hockey that we first made in February 2016.