Recognizing the invaluable efforts of our members, CARHA Hockey is proud to introduce a new feature to recognize and share stories about the individuals and groups who have demonstrated exceptional commitment and support within the sport of hockey and their community.
Pat Frost
Pat has been a cornerstone in Ottawa's hockey community, leading a growing referee hockey group in the city. Beyond the rink, Pat is involved with the the Kids Come 1st organization, a charity focused on aiding families with children facing disabilities, particularly autism. We invite you to read on as Pat shares the profound impact we can have when we come together as a community.
Tell us about your connection to sports and hockey in the community.
I run a referee hockey group in the city of Ottawa, and we continue to grow every year. CARHA Hockey is our insurance provider and we have built a great relationship with them. There have been referrals both ways in terms of officials looking to join leagues and leagues looking for officials. I have been with CARHA Hockey for over 30 years now.
You have a very impressive background in sports and charity work. Can you tell us more about your experience running golf tournaments and charities? How have the charities been impacted by these golf events?
We run an organization called Kids Come 1st (https://www.kidscome1st.ca/) that is run out of Ottawa at the Rockland Golf Club. It goes towards helping members of the Ottawa Police Association who have children with disabilities, the focus being children with autism. Every year we run a golf tournament, and we reach out to groups to get involved. Stuntman Stu is our emcee, and he helps run the event which we are very grateful for. We give money back to families who face challenges with their kids. Most of these families are spending anywhere from $20-30,000 annually on their child’s care. A lot of times when trying to deal with insurance companies or other resources, it is very challenging to get this money reimbursed. The medical system says that it is educational, and the education system says that it is medical. So, to give a family $1500-2500, it may not be a lot of money, but when you can give it to many families in need, it is a great feeling.
“In the 20 years that I’ve emceed his golf tournament, we’ve never had an issue with anything! He’s a guy who literally knows everyone in the city and it’s always a pleasure working with him” - Stuntman Stu
What motivated you to get involved in this aspect of charity work?
My involvement first started because my youngest son is autistic. We were benefactors up until a few years ago. We decided we needed to give money back to other people. The first year that it ran, the amount of money raised was impressive. I decided that the large amount of money being raised should be given to the growing number of families that are also struggling. Every year CARHA Hockey has also been involved, adding items to the silent auction. This was our 20th year running the tournament. It was my friend who first ran the tournament, and when I realized how much money we could raise, I decided, let's get more people involved and make the event bigger. It has continued to grow and sells out every year. We are very fortunate for our corporate sponsors and the impact we have made.
Can you share your most rewarding experiences from this type of work?
Seeing the look on families' faces when they are able to send their son or daughter to a camp or buy them something new and the joy that it brings their child. These families have very small gains. When you look at what struggles they face, a very simple task for a regular child may take weeks or months for these families to learn or adjust to. So, to have this reward for them, that they get whatever it is they’re hoping for (as simple as a book, a camp, a television), you sit and reflect on the fact that this is what it takes to make them happy. Seeing the joy in the parent's face because of the smile they see on their child’s face is indescribable. A lot of these kids are nonverbal, so there is no speaking, no telling you that I love you, they just look at you and you get to see that smile, it's very rewarding.
As someone deeply involved in giving back to the community, what advice would you give to others who want to contribute or engage in charitable activities?
I think everybody should be giving back something. They should be trying to find a group or an organization that they can share with. All of us have struggles but if you look around there are people with huge struggles out there. Again, when I look at autism or mental health, there are so many things out there that people need a hand with. We can all spare a little, and when we all spare a little, it ends up being a lot. We need to not be selfish, be selfless and make those decisions to help organizations in need and give joy to families and young adults. It’s the right thing to do. We need to give back.
