Humboldt one year later

By Tate Harris

The accident that brought the country together to raise a record amount of money on a crowdfunding website, marks its one-year anniversary this month.

On April 6, 2018 the Humboldt Broncos team bus was struck by a semi-truck, leaving 16 dead and 13 injured. The country began to show their support for the team raising $1 million in 24 hours on crowdfunding website GoFundMe. The campaign had constant support and broke the crowdfunding website’s national record, raising a total of $15 million.

“Hockey is our game, every Canadian loves it in some way,” said Matthew Marontate, a bantam hockey player. “Those kids loved it and their families loved it so, everyone in the hockey community did their part to make it better for their families.”

Kyle Horner, a former college hockey play by play announcer, said he donated to the GoFundMe because he shared more than just the love of a sport with those involved in the accident.

“The hockey world is a family, no matter if you play hockey in Finland or Canada. We’re one big family,” Horner said. “I’ve ridden on a bus like that across Ontario and most of the United States, playing and broadcasting, it’s what you do if hockey is your life. So when I found out about the crash, it was like losing family members and the least I could do was donate to help the grieving families.”

Broncos’ president, Kevin Garinger, met with the media on April 18, 2018 to announce a plan to help manage the large amount of donations. A committee was created to discuss how the money would be distributed to the families of the deceased and the surviving members of the accident.

One family member of a survivor said he would have liked to see the money evenly distributed between the 29 victims but in November 2018 the committee announced how the campain’s funds would be dispensed. The families of the deceased received a total of $525,000 while each survivor received $475,000.

The site of the accident will see people paying their respects again on Saturday and no matter how much money was raised the day will be emotional for all in the hockey community.