ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ) — The weather shifting back into winter mode didn’t stop 2,000 people from braving the slick roads for the 11th Annual Green Bay Gamblers Mitten Toss.
Every year, during the first goal the Gamblers score during the Mitten Toss game the crowd throws mittens on the ice for local students and this year they didn’t have to wait long. The first goal came just 8 minutes into the first period from the Gamblers Nicholas Zabaneh and the mittens went flying, although there were considerably fewer than in previous years.
“The weather did keep some people away,” Gamblers Director of Business and Promotions Jeff Mitchell told WTAQ. “So we’re disappointed in that regard. On average we get around 3,000+. But still, we collected over 911 mittens.”
Lynn Hopfensperger is with Fox Communities Credit Union, the event’s partner, she helped come up with the idea 11 years ago.
“We’ve given them to Green Bay, Pulaski, the Appleton Area School District, we’ve given some to Kaukauna,” Hopfensperger said Monday. “We just ask schools if they need some at some of their [less] well off schools. They’re easy to talk to, and why not?”
The event has collected over 15,000 pairs of mittens in the last 11 years.
It’s not the only event Fox Communities Credit Union is putting on with the Gamblers this year. In February, they’re sponsoring the Weiner dog race night benefiting a local animal sanctuary. This April, they’re going in for a brand new charity collection: ‘We Got Ya Girl’, collecting feminine hygiene products for area students.
The Gamblers fell to the USA Development Team, 4-3 in the exhibition game.
