Sports Teams Practicing CSR

At the risk of exhausting a topic that our team has already discussed, I wanted to write a blog post about the Calgary Flames’ CSR initiatives which they implement throughout the year. I am interested in this team specifically because I completed my second internship with the Flames Foundation for Life. In this role, I planned and executed numerous fundraising events and participated in all of the Flames' CSR initiatives.

The Calgary Flames have a well-established CSR program through the Flames Foundation for Life and raise money through 50-50 ticket sales at Flames games, player appearances in the community and large fundraising events.

For the purpose of this blog post, I am only going to focus on the three major fundraising events I helped plan in my four-month internship at the Calgary Flames. The events the Flames execute every year are second to none; they raise thousands of dollars for charity, gain extensive media coverage and generate a positive reputation for the hockey club throughout the community.

The first event I helped plan was the 2012 Calgary Flames Ambassadors’ Celebrity Poker Tournament. This year, the poker tournament raised over $550,000 for charity, bringing the total raised through the poker event to over $2.5 million over the past seven years. The poker tournament is usually the highest-generating fundraising event the Flames have each year because all of the players are in attendance, as well as many individuals from Calgary’s corporate community.

The second event I helped the Flames Foundation execute was the 2012 Craig Conroy Roast, which raised over $225,000 for the Missing Children Society of Canada. The Missing Children Society later told the Flames Foundation if it weren’t for our donation, they would have been forced to close their doors due to a lack of funding. The event consisted of many of Craig’s former teammates and coaches telling funny stories and “roasting” him in front of hundreds of people who had purchased tables to the event. There was an elegant banquet served, as well as a silent and live auction, which all contributed to the events success.

The third event I participated in was the 2012 Flames Better Halves Ultimate Ladies Night Out, which raised close to $125,000 for charity. The event was held at Flames Central and consisted of the Flames players’ wives and girlfriends walking in a fashion show wearing items from retailers in CrossIron Mills. There were also baskets donated by the wives and girlfriends, made up of their family’s favourite things, that were auctioned off throughout the night. There was unlimited food and drinks and a number of prize giveaways, making it one of the most popular events for ladies in Calgary’s corporate community.

As you can see, the Calgary Flames Foundation for Life has an excellent CSR program, implementing a number of successful fundraising events throughout the year. Although I have only focused on their events, they also practice CSR through player appearances at hospitals and schools and by constructing important buildings such as the Rotary Flames House and the outdoor community ice rinks in Cranston and Whitehorn.

For these reasons, I believe the Calgary Flames have an excellent CSR program and are extremely effective in giving back to the community.

- Jessica Littel