Holiday Huddle. I can’t take the credit for the birth of this concept - my friend Megan Hendrickson passed it along to me when we lived in MPLS. She questioned why professional sports teams in the Twin Cities haven’t come together for causes that would benefit the community? The question made me pause. Then she added, “We should get the Vikings and the Wild to do something together, “ because she had ties to the Wild.

That idea never came into fruition because I was busy trying to launch my Thoughtful Pinch app and then my hub took his Broncos job in January ‘21 so my family moved to Denver. However, the seed had been planted and so one of the things that I wanted to do as a GM’s wife was to figure out a way to bring all the professional sports teams together. Especially because Colorado does not have two professional sports teams that play the same sport. We have one team of each: hockey, soccer, basketball, football, lacrosse and baseball. In my head, the question came up again but for a different city: “Why not get all the pro sports teams in Colorado together to help the community?” After all, none of the teams are competing against each other for fans.

Seems like that plan would be easy to do but I will say, it took more work than any one person could do on their own. With a lot help from Tim Gelt, my PR advisor and the Broncos’ VP of Community Development, Allie Engelken, I am finally ready to talk about the collaboration of all six pro teams! First, I thought the best way to start this effort would be to contact the GM/President’s wives of each professional team. We met up once and then soon after, a fresh new crew showed up because of additions and promotions.

Second, Tim found two wonderful organizations in which all of our teams have common philanthropic ties. Coincidentally, both organizations benefit the children in our communities. I took this as a sign because my hub and I had decided that as a new family to this community, we would help organizations that help set up kids for success. The three organizations that my family is choosing to support are: A Precious Child, Breakthrough and the Boys+Girls Clubs of Metro Denver. It just so happens that the two organizations that all six pro teams have in common are A Precious Child (APC) and the Boys + Girls Clubs of Metro Denver (BGCMD).

So I met with both organizations and asked them what their needs were. They each had needs that were right up my ally: Youth sports, arts/dance and parties. I checked with the other wives and they were on board. And this is how we arrive at Holiday Huddle.

The name Holiday Huddle is the brilliant work of Allie. She suggested this perfect name because almost every team sport forms a huddle when they plan to play or practice. And as a bonus, who doesn’t like alliteration? Allie was the key lead in figuring out a way to help the BGCMD in a way that can sustain itself without taxing any of the teams’ philosophies. In other words, she found a way to help this organization without stepping on anyone’s toes. After all, if we are trying to do good in the neighborhood, we needed to strategically do this without getting in the way of each team’s community outreach efforts.

Each of the Colorado professional sports teams have their own community partners and they provide their own individual, unique support. This is worth mentioning because four of the six pro teams are under one ownership. We all stay in our own lanes when it comes to helping out in the community; our teams have been doing this for decades. In fact, I’m very proud of the Bronco’s Community Development Department because they win awards for the outstanding work the organization does in our community. I think it’s very inspiring for each team to perform their own outreaches and help their partners the best way they can. With that said, my vision of getting all of the pro sports teams to collaborate for one giant effort seems like mathematically, the impact has to be better than just one team at a time trying to help support a partner. The saying, “Many hands make light work.” Or my newest saying, “We’re stone-souping it.” If each team contributes their strengths, it will add up to a mighty big outreach for those in need.

So to make a long story longer, I’m proud to say that the Holiday Huddle group consists of the GM/President wives of Colorado’s professional sports teams - Linda Schmidt with the Rockies, Keisha Booth with the Nuggets, Chan MacFarland with the Avalanche (who btw are the Stanley Cup winners) and Alicia Self with the Mammoth. Side Note: At this time, the Rapids, our pro soccer team, is participating but not represented by a GM/President wife. In a historical event, which I hope is the first of many, fans and family of these teams will have the opportunity to help the greater community together, as a collective effort, to help the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Denver as they host their annual holiday parties.  We are going to come together as a group effort (no other city has done this) to help twenty local clubs create long-lasting, wonderful memories for these children who deserve a holiday filled with cheer!

Should you wish to donate please click the link Holiday Huddle - Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver.

Your support can help supply the following thoughtful pinches to the kids who have not been able to enjoy and make holiday memories in the traditional sense since 2019:

• $10 – Milk and cookies 

• $25 – Wrapping paper and decorations 

• $50 – Delicious homemade meals 

• $100 – Festive games and crafts 

• Or, give any amount you choose and get into the unlimited giving spirit!  

Another thing that I love about the name Holiday Huddle is of course, that it pertains to holidays! As a preview, I will share that we hope to roll our efforts into helping A Precious Child next. We want to raise awareness and funds to help offset the costs of registration fees for youth sports, arts and dance programs. By keeping the name in tact and going with the holiday theme, I will propose that we raise awareness for this great need within our community between Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Start with love and end with luck!!

Pinches,

Barb

PS - In conjunction with raising awareness that the BGCMD kids haven’t had a holiday party since 2019, my hub is participating in the 2022 My Cause My Cleats program. The shoes in the picture above (which include the Holiday Huddle logo) were designed and created by a member of BGCMD. Her name is Eunique and information on this cause can be found here.