From Top Shelf To Food Shelf Year Six Six Six

By now, #FTSTFS is part of college hockey lore, but in case you recently came out of a nuclear fallout shelter where you’ve been living since 1975, let me assist you with an explanation of what this is all about:

Comrades, the time has come once more for the annual From Top Shelf To Food Shelf pledge drive. Unfamiliar with how this started? Read the origin story here.

You make a pledge. Your team plays hockey. You fulfill your pledge. It’s so easy.

Did you know that last year, as a group, we surpassed the $10,000 mark? Cumulatively, college hockey fans have come together to raise $10,624.65 and 594 ancillary items. This is officially a big freaking deal, thanks to some really cool people. People like you!

My own pledge this year is $5 per tUMD goal and $5 per FTSTFS participant. So simply making a pledge of your own is worth $5 before the weekend has even started!

Here are the rules of engagement:

1. Dream up a pledge based on the performance of your hockey team on the weekend of December 7/8/9. The pledge can be related to anything that can be quantified (and 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). Please refrain from making the pledge overly complex.
2.  Choose a charity in your community or in the community in which your team plays. I live in St. Paul, but my teams are in Duluth. I chose a charity in Duluth (CHUM). 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. This is a great way to help even if you have made contributions elsewhere or you are unable to contribute materially.
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.

(I know not every team plays next weekend, so if you would like to participate anyway, we can work something out, whether that’s making a pledge this upcoming weekend, or hitching you up to a team’s bandwagon.)

Please join in the festivities in any way you can, whether that pledges or publicity. No contribution is too small! It is so fun to be part of something bigger than one’s self – watching my friends across the college hockey world getting into the spirit warms my cold black heart.