A handful of executives in the NHL are helping support their communities during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The New Jersey Devils managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, through Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, donated six-figures to RWJBarnabas’ Health Emergency Response Fund, which will help get medical equipment for more than 35,000 employees in the health system in Newark, New Jersey. HBSE, which owns the Prudential Center, also donated 7,000 pairs of gloves, 10,000 units of hand sanitizer, ad all cleaning supplies it had in the building, NHL.com reports.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that what Josh, David, and HSBE are doing for the community is “not only a testament to their level of support for healthcare workers and the families in those regions, it’s another example of how NHL teams and players are stepping up to help those most in need at this time.”
“We are incredibly thankful and appreciative for the generous donation from Josh Harris, David Blitzer, and the New Jersey Devils,” RWJBarnabas president and CEO Barry H. Ostrowsky said in a statement. “Our team members are extremely dedicated and selfless. It is our obligation to ensure the best protection as they perform their truly heroic work, and this donation will help provide them with the resources necessary to stay safe and care for our patients.”
In addition to the Devils’ contribution, the Arizona Coyotes president and CEO Ahron Cohen and general manager John Chayka will donate 20 percent of their respective salaries to the Arizona Coronavirus Relief Fund, as well as other non-profits working to curb the impact of coronavirus on the state. Originally, the relief fund was created to help support the organizations working to mitigate the pandemic.
Cohen said that he felt the need to donate because “as a business leader, a husband, a father and an Arizonan, I see this as our privilege and responsibility to help support the people of this great state.”
“Arizona has been our team’s home for nearly 25 years and this community has rallied around the Coyotes in good times and bad,” Cohen said. “In a moment of such critical need, my wife Dana and I feel compelled to do what we can as a family to help our Arizona family.”
This fund will help provide necessary personal protective equipment for frontline medical personnel and provide resources to nonpfotis like food banks and homeless shelters. Chayka said that he and his wife made the decision because “now more than ever, we want to do everything we can to support this great state that has given us so much.”
“Kathryn and I could not be more grateful to the healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, EMTs, and grocery store and food service workers who every day sacrifice so much so their neighbors can stay healthy and safe,” Chayka told the NHL.com in a statement. “Now more than ever, we want to do everything we can to support this great state that has give us so much.”
