Guys Giving Back: The Turkey Day Edition. Complete With Pie.

It makes my heart melt. (and yes, I do in fact have a heart…)

So, November is now known as #Movember. Yes, you need the hashtag for it to be legit.  #Movember is for men’s health awareness, and in particular, prostate cancer.  And what says ‘men’s health’ more than a wickedly awesome mustache? Exactly, nothing else.  Prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, is estimated to take the lives of approximately 33,000 men in 2011, and that approximately 240,000 new cases will be diagnosed.  Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, right behind lung cancer. As a soon-to-be oncology nurse, I’m always thrilled to read how athletes give back, especially when it comes to cancer and cancer research.  I’m sure many of us are following at least one NHL’er or athlete on Twitter who is growing one for men’s health. If you can, throw a dollar their way, make a small difference.  Check outhttp://us.movember.com/ and search for them. It’s easy really.  This prompted me to see who else is giving back, but not just in the month of #Movember.

So, being that today is Thanksgiving (gobble gobble) and everyone around me is sleeping off the turkey, I decided to write. I knew exactly which organization I was going to focus on from day one.  To me, this organization is a fantastic way of merging giving, hockey, and freedom.  This edition's focus in on DefendingTheBlueLine.  Now, I'm sure we've all seen their commercials on NHLNetwork and CenterIce, their banner/ads on NHL.com, etc. Now, while some of us have fast forwarded thru those commercials after seeing them for the second time and moved on, I decided to look into their organization.

Mission Statement: Defending the Blue Line is a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization created by soldiers with the spirit of keeping hockey alive for the children of our nations military heroes.

They provided free equipment, camps, special events and assist with the financials of various hockey fees to the children of our nation's military service men and women.  There are many players who endorse DTBL, many of whom we all know, but have not really seen them as the face of DBTL.  Here are some to name a few: Brent Burns, Zach Parise, George Parros, Derek Stepan, Sean Avery, Ryan Kesler....  One other player, who now has a  memorial page is Derek Boogaard.  He was super active in the DBTL effort.

So, how can you help, you ask? 

Donate.

Time. Money. Equipment. It's a good cause, bridging hockey and helping out those who sacrifice their lives everyday for us.

So, after you've changed into your elastic band stretch pants and snuggle down on the couch to sleep off the turkey you've ingested, take a moment to check out Defending the Blue Line show some love.