Community Involvement
Giving back to the community is integral part of Sportop's role in Thunder Bay. We shifted dollars away from advertising and started spending in the community by way of donations. Giving back to the community is something that we feel very strongly about. We look forward to supporting those who have helped us grow and become what we are today.
Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
We committed $10,000 to the development of the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre
.
Hope Classic Curling Bonspiel
There are many annual events that Sportop proudly supports year after year such as the Hope Classic Curling Bonspiel.This bonspiel is geared toward raising money for breast cancer research. Sportop Marketing provides prizes and donations for 300 curlers for the weekend event.
Starting the shirts for the Hope Classic Curling Bonspiel
Royal LePage Run for Women
Another annual event that Sportop supports is Royal LePage Run for Women. The organizers of this event use our building as a pick up centre for the participants to come and pick up their individual race kits.
Northern Cancer Research Foundation
As well as supporting annual events, Sportop also donates money to individual organizations such as Northern Cancer Research Foundation, Heart and Stroke and the Kidney Foundation to name a few.
Local Teams
Sportop has financially sponsored the Sportop AAA Bantam Kings for the last 15 years supporting young players in their hockey careers helping them realize their dreams in the NHL.
The following NHL hockey players came through the Sportop AAA Bantam Kings program:
- Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup Champions, drafted 2nd overall NHL draft Carolina Hurricanes 2003
- Mark Staal, drafted 12th overall NHL draft New York Rangers 2005
- Jordan Staal, drafted 2nd overall NHL draft Pittsburgh Penguins 2006
- Jarad Staal, drafted in the first round OHL draft Sudbury Wolves
- Taylor Pyatt, Buffalo Sabres
- Alex Auld, Vancouver Canucks
- Patrick Sharp, Philadelphia Flyers
Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup Champions, drafted 2nd overall NHL draft Carolina Hurricanes 2003. A past member of the Sportop AAA Bantam Kings.
As well as supporting the Sportop AAA Bantam King program, we also support a variety of high school teams, various community based teams, Confederation College teams, and Lakehead University teams.
Our Community
On a daily basis we have requests for prizes and donations to help to support events such as, corporate Christmas and summer parties as well as social functions throughout the community. These prizes mainly consist of custom screen printed and embroidered merchandise such as hats, t-shirts, jackets etc.