Renee Larocque and Eddie Haddad would have loved to buy tickets for their family to watch the World Juniors in Ottawa but instead spend much of their disposable income on caring for their children, who have autism.
So when a local charity supporting families with autistic children offered them free tickets in a box at the 100 level of the Canadian Tire Center to watch Canada play the Czech Republic in pre-tournament competition on Dec. 23, their children could scarcely believe it.
"My daughter, she asked me a couple times, 'You're joking, right?' I said, 'No, this is true,'" Haddad recounted.
"For the kids, it was an awesome experience being at that level."
That experience was made possible because Hockey Canada participates in a program that provides tickets to partner organizations, which distribute them to families whose children might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend the tournament.
Ahead of the tournament, fans were able to purchase 14 or 18 game packages for the event, according to Dean McIntosh, Hockey Canada's senior vice-president of revenue, fan experience and community impact.
But he says, they may not attend each game they bought tickets for.
"We have a ticket donation program there at the Kids Up Front [where] you can donate your tickets there and then they will disperse them to local families and youth that certainly can use those tickets," McIntosh said.
Larocque said receiving the free tickets had a significant positive impact on her family.
"We really struggle to make choices on what we're going to spend our money on or what we're even going to take the chance to do," she said.
Being able to attend a hockey game gave her children an opportunity to socialize and provided the family with "a sense of normalcy," Larocque said.
This is particularly rewarding for families that never get such experiences, or have siblings without disabilities who nonetheless miss out because disposable income goes towards therapy and other expenses related to raising children who are autistic, she said.
Eddie Haddad, who went to the Canada vs. Czech Republic pre-tournament game with his kids, said his kids were in shock when they found out they received tickets from the donation program. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)If fans purchased World Junior Hockey Championship tickets on Ticketmaster and aren't able to attend, there is an option on the digital platform to donate them.
Local charity Kids Up Front then distribute the donated tickets to over one hundred partner community organizations around Ottawa.
In 2024, the charity provided about 13,000 free tickets to events ranging from sports to concerts, with an in-kind value of about $400,000.
So far, over 2,000 tickets have been donated for this year's World Juniors.
"People are aware of the realities of life, that there are a lot of folks in our community who can't afford these high prices, and for them, it's a great opportunity to be able to create a lifelong memory for children and youth," said Michael Harris, executive director of Kids Up Front.
They've received more donated tickets since the pandemic, he says, a bright spot amid concerns over the high cost of tickets.
"If anybody's ever wondering where their tickets are going, this is a prime example," Larocque said.
"You're making a lot of kids happy and maybe a few parents too."