Matthew Wittman Memorial Hockey Game

CHALLENGE

I planned and organized the Matthew Wittman Memorial Hockey Game in December 2013 to gather family and friends, help with the healing process, honor the memory of a former high school hockey teammate, and raise money to donate to To Write Love on Her Arms, a nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, and self-harm.

STRATEGY

I promoted the event by creating a blog and curating posts written by friends and family members. I shared the posts on social media along with a link to a GoFundMe and instructions for purchasing pre-sale tickets and pre-ordering jerseys. Additionally, I reached out to Pittsburgh-based professional, semi-professional, and college sports teams and local business and restaurants asking for donations for a raffle and/or to sponsor the game. Finally, I reached out to local media outlets to promote the event.

LOGO/JERSEYS

A high school classmate and (now professional) graphic designer, Rob Hungerman, designed a logo for the event, and I designed the jerseys worn by the players.

TICKETS

I used the logo and the help of Signal Graphics, a local printing services company, to create a commemorative ticket for the event.

SPONSORS

Many of the Pittsburgh-based professional, semi-professional, and college sports teams and local business and restaurants I reached out to donated items for the raffle at the event. Raffle items included a signed Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, a signed Pittsburgh Steelers football, and more. Additionally, a producer for 105.9 WXDX, a Pittsburgh-base rock radio station and the broadcasting partner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, mentioned the event on-air and the shared the GoFundMe link on the station’s Facebook.

RESULTS

Mt. Lebanon Ice Center generously agreed to donate the cost of ice for the event, and over 200 people purchased tickets. Combined with a GoFundMe, money raised from selling game tickets and tickets for raffle items, and jerseys, the Matthew Wittman Memorial Hockey Game raised over $6,000 for To Write Love on Her Arms and allowed family, friends, and a community to gather around the holidays to continue healing together and raise money for a great cause.

A special thanks to my parents for helping plan and execute the event and my college roommate, friend, and (now professional) videographer Stephen Hicken for taking photographs at the event, and of course all the former teammates and friends of Matthew Wittman for playing in the game!