Five Years of From Top Shelf To Food Shelf

How time flies! I cannot believe this is the fifth year of this exciting event!

The 5th Annual From Top Shelf To Food Shelf pledge drive will run Dec 8-10. I am sure by now this esteemed event is part of the rich lore of college hockey, but if you have not heard the origin story, click here! I can promise you that this is one of the best weekends in college hockey if you follow along on the internets. Fans from all corners of the hockey world come together to make a difference in their own communities, and it’s exciting to see the pledge numbers grow and the totals skyrocket.

In four years, hockey fans have raised $6571 and 435 food/clothing items. That is AMAZING!!!!

Here are the rules of engagement:

1. Dream up a pledge based on the performance of your hockey team on the weekend of December 8/9/10. The pledge can be related to anything that can be quantified (and, hopefully, something I can easily look up). Goals, wins, saves, PIM, etc. Most pledges are money, but some are cans of food, hams, jars of peanut butter (warning: PB is expensive), or clothing items (socks, hats, gloves, etc).
2.  Choose a charity in your community or in the community in which your team plays. I live in Duluth and my teams conveniently play here, but if you live in Kampala, Uganda and cheer for AIC, you could choose a charity in Kampala or one in Springfield.
3. Click this link to go to the official pledge form! It’s so easy! Answer a few simple questions and your pledge is recorded. I will do my best to handle pledges made in other ways, but I would hate to miss one, so please just use the form. There is an option to make your pledge anonymous as well. I will know you’ve made the pledge, but won’t share your name.
4. Spread the word. Evangelize on your blog, your social media platforms (#FromTopShelfToFoodShelf!), and even in real life, if you interact with others in that way.
5. Tally up what you owe. I keep track on a spreadsheet, but I don’t send out reminders or updates. If you ask directly, I can verify your total. If you choose to round up or if you need to modify your pledge, please tell me.
6. **Donate directly to the charity you’ve selected.** I don’t collect the money. I trust that you will make this donation.

Pledge what you can. I promise there’s no amount too small to make an impact, and there’s something exciting about being part of a collective effort to improve the lives of others in your community. If you’re not able to make a pledge, share this post and help spread the word. Wouldn’t it be amazing to get our grand total up to $10K this year?

This year, my own pledge is $5/tUMD goal (the men are playing UNO and the women are playing UMTC), plus $5 per participant (in honor of the 5th year of the event). I’ll be making my donation to CHUM again this year.

The pledge form is live, so start thinking about the best way to motivate your team and get your pledges in!