Though their 2020 season might be cancelled, it isn’t stopping the Victoria Harbourcats from helping the community. Through a fun new initiative, the Harbourcats have resurrected their annual sock drive.
Normally a fan favourite during the season, the sock drive supports Anawim House, an organization that aims to rehabilitate Victoria’s homeless population.
“Anawim is literally right across the street from the Harbourcats, and what we are is we’re a day house for people living in poverty that are trying to find a better way of life,” says Anawim director Terry Edison-Brown.
The proximity of the two organizations has made their partnership a natural fit and led to its continuation during the pandemic.
“We do a lot of stuff with them in the community. This is probably the biggest thing that we do. We’re just proud to have them as neighbours and support what they do,” adds Harbourcats assistant general manager Christian Stewart.
Instead of a home run unleashing a flurry of socks onto the Royal Athletic Park field, fans could donate and throw socks into one of four prize buckets. The buckets added a difficult twist to the fundraiser.
It’s all part of the team’s ongoing efforts to give back to their community while awaiting the chance to once again play ball.
“We love to do all these promotions at the park obviously with games and you know two, three, four thousand fans in attendance,” says Stewart. “We’re going to be back next year stronger than ever. We’re going to have even more community support next year when we start playing baseball again in 2021.”
For Anawim House, the partnership with organizations like the Harbourcats is vital.
“If it wasn’t for our community partners like the Harbourcats, like the Knights of Columbus, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do for the people we do,” says Edison-Brown.
Cole Sorenson
