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H.E.R.O.E.S. Care

Hockey for HEROES

Over the last 7 years Winterland, Rockets families  and our Friends have shipped close to 1000 HEROES Care packages to our troops overseas.


2023 Heroes Care Collection Day Friendship Game

St. Louis Blues Warriors vs. Rockets Squirts
December 10, 2023

Brentwood Ice Rink
2:00pm to 4:00pm

2022 Packing Team - Players from the Rockets, Kirkwood Stars, Car Shield, Knights, and Warriors plus Spider

2022 Packing Team - Players from the Rockets, Kirkwood Stars, Car Shield, Knights, and Warriors plus Spider


Make a donation

Click on the logos to make a
Monetary Contribution to the
Winterland-Rockets-Warriors
Project for H.E.R.O.E.S. Care

Retired Air Force Colonel, Laurel "Buff" Burkel speaks to the families and players



Care Packages are sent to our K-9 units, too


Unpacking Care Packages on the other end

Special Friendship games with Rockets Squirts, Winterland Adults and Warriors Delta Team



Warriors hand out HEREOS Care Challenge Coins to all the players

Packing Day Video 2022



K9's for Warriors stop by to meet the Rocket kids

Special Fundraising Event to raise money for Rockets Squirts HEROES Care Project



Coach Whitworth speaks to the players

2023-2024
Participating Players

from the following
Hockey Clubs

Rocket's Player makes video to help raise awareness





Coach Douglas handling the weigh in


Comments from the Troops

Mr. Whitworth,

Good afternoon from Afghanistan! We just received a care package from you and just wanted to say thank you so much!  It is so nice knowing there are people back home who dedicate their time and effort to do this for us.  Not only did it brighten up the room just knowing we got a care package, but the items in it were perfect. We are trying to save some of the snacks you sent but many of those have already been devoured.  We are so greatly for what you have done for us.

It was LT Nash who is from the area and who the care package was sent to, but I wanted to write you once I saw it was from a hockey program.  I've played hockey my whole life and am a huge fan of the game at all levels.  I am actually a big time hater of the St. Louis Blues since I was born and raised in the Chicago area.  I did spend a good amount of time playing games and tournaments in St. Louis.  I was always playing the Chesterfield Falcons and Chris Pronger, Al McInnis and Keith Tkachuk came into our locker room before one game.  I think McInnis's son was on the team, it's definitely a moment I'll never forget.  So I do have a soft spot for St. Louis hockey deep down there somewhere.

Thanks you again so very much for working so hard and raising money to send us a care package it truly means the world to us here.  Good luck this season. You have a new fan here in Afghanistan.  If you could I would love to stay updated on your team.  And if you are ever in the Chicago area you have to let me know, my brother is a coach for the Northbrook Bluehawks, maybe you will run into eachother.

Very Respectfully,

SSG Weinstein, Samuel
 

Mr. Whitworth, 

Hello from the font lines of Afghanistan. I wanted  to take a moment to tell each and every one of your team THANK YOU for the 10 care packages we received. 

With my group are Army and Air Force engineers living in tents just put in place. Included are Missouri army and air force national guardsmen of which some of us from the STL region.  The items have already and will continue to provide relief to our shortages. The snacks,  candies and various other recreational items were also quickly collected and spread around our group. 

Thanks to the kids for all their efforts. As a native of St. Louis myself I could not be more proud of my community. Please share our gratitude! Go Blues!

Captain Jason Davis 





Maleah,

 Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to send us a care package. Your hard work on your chores does not go unappreciated! I think it's very cool that you're a defenseman on your team! When I was your age I played hockey too and I was a goalie. Who is your favorite professional player? Did you see the U.S. women's Olympic team beat Canada and got a gold medal? Keep playing hard and always remember to have fun!

 Very Respectfully,

PFC Desirae Reed
35th EN BDE




Father and Son spend time together


Harlan,

Thank you very much for the care package. It means a lot to us to be remembered back home, and I especially appreciate that you worked to raise the money to send it to us. It's not much fun over here, but thoughtful acts like yours make it easier. I'll admit I'm a little jealous; the temperatures here have been in the 90's already all week, and seeing you all standing in front of the ice makes me wish I could do the same. I'll also admit I've never been a big hockey fan, but seeing the obvious character of the players I think maybe I should be a bigger fan, at least of the Rockets. The players in all sports should be as exceptional as you.

I wish you the best of luck in your hockey career, school career, and whatever you do in life. Again, thank you.

Sincerely,

SSG Spartan, Marcus D.




Letter from H.E.R.O.E.S. Care

What an wonderful thing you are doing in support of the deployed and their families!

Just so you know why it’s so important:

1. Military members must provide for all of their own personal care items, even while deployed. They often rely on family and friends to provide for these needs especially if they are ‘forward deployed’ at remote operating bases.

2. Service members holding the rank of E-4 or below (the equivalent of a corporal across all branches of the service), relying solely on their military pay, married with one child, make so little they qualify for food stamps. The cost of a quality care package can exceed $100. Care packages from groups and organizations not only provide an important ‘taste of home’, but allow these families to preserve precious financial resources.

All of us at H.E.R.O.E.S. Care wish you all of the joys and blessings of the Holiday season. You are certainly blessing those we are serving together…

For The Troops,

Dave Woolley
Executive Vice President
H.E.R.O.E.S. Care
314-276-8786
dave.woolley@heroescare.org


Mr. Whitworth -

I wanted to send you a BIG THANK YOU to you and your team for the many care packages me and my Soldiers have received over the past couple of days.

Some of my Soldiers have already sent emails to your team.  What I wanted you to know is that I forwarded most of the packages to my Soldiers that are working in austere environments, so the packages will be very appreciated.  This also means they do not always have access to email, internet, or computers.  So I wanted to make sure you and your team were aware we received and very much appreciate your packages and the hard work to earn them.

SGM Heather L. Javersak
35th Engineer Brigade
Operations SGM




Getting ready to be shipped to Kuwait




Good day Mr. Whitworth,

I just wanted to take a moment to THANK YOU and your kids for the care packages that were sent out to the troops in Afghanistan. Receiving care packages is like receiving a little piece of home. We never know what each box will contain but we are grateful for everything that is sent. Our office here at the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan, (Kabul) is comprised of U.S. Military troops from the Navy, Army, and Air Force, along with a few Department of Defense civilians. We shared what we received with other troops in the organization as well. Please let the kiddos know how much we appreciated their contributions to include raising money for items to go into the boxes. Their kindness will never be forgotten.

Special thanks to:

Johnny Carlin
JP Senneff
John Shuff
Tori Flores
Dean Sansone
Andrew Spittal

Sincerely,

Maegan Wallinger
CSTCA-HQ (CJ1)


This is amazing.  

Someone asked me the other day if Jack plays for the Rockets because they had heard this story on the news.  Thank you for the goodwill this shines on the organization and your generosity!

Dominic,

 Thank you very much for the package and the nice letter! I hope you enjoyed your car show! My dad has a 1970 Dodge Charger and he takes it to car shows all the time. In fact he's in a car collectors club in my town that hosts a lot of car shows. I also think it's pretty cool that you play hockey. When I was your age I was a goalie too. Keep playing hard and always remember to have fun! Thank you for your support.

 Very Respectfully,

 PFC Desirae Reed
35th EN BDE



Good Day All,

 I wanted to thank you for the care packages you sent recently. They arrived in the mail last week and were greatly appreciated.

 My name is Nate and I am a Gunner's Mate with the Coast Guard stationed in Manama, Bahrain. I have been here for about ten months and have about four more months to go. I have a wife and three children (twin 7-year-old boys and a 6-year-old daughter) who I miss very much.

 To J.P. - My family lives in Kingsland, GA right now, but we are moving to Portsmouth, VA this summer. I've been stationed in the south most of my career but I am consider the Midwest home (I'm from Indiana). That's very cool that your Dad was in the Army - so was mine! As a kid I liked wrestling. I never cared much for team sports, but if I did I'd be playing hockey like you guys.

To Maleah - I like books as well - I just got done reading "Fire and Blood" by George RR Martin. It was a long book but a good one. I also like watching TV, but it is mostly movies. They do a good job of filling the time I spend away from family. Take care of the new sibling you have and thanks for writing me.

 To Spencer - I went to see a Blues game when I was stationed in St. Louis. I remember having a hard time keeping track of the puck it was going so fast. Congratulations on scoring that goal. Keep practicing and it will be the first of many. I appreciate you taking the time to write us over here.

 Thanks again, Nate Lyons
 GMC Nate Lyons
Weapons Division/ATFP Chief
Coast Guard 



Hello,

My name is Taylor Lowe, and I want to thank you for the packages that you and your team sent.  We are very grateful for them, and for your support.  I think it is really cool that you're into sports such as hockey, because I was also into sports such as baseball when I was growing up.  I read where you're a first generation American, and I just want to say that I hope your family is liking Missouri and our great country.  I hope your hockey season goes well!





 

 

 


PLEASE NOTE: Small sizes work best!!  Select items that will fit in a shirt pocket.  
NO AEROSOL Products - they cannot be shipped.  
NO Flip-Top products without seals - they might leak.

 

 

 


PLEASE NOTE: Small sizes work best!!  Select items that will fit in a shirt pocket.  
NO AEROSOL Products - they cannot be shipped.  
NO Flip-Top products without seals - they might leak.

In 2016, the Hockey for Heroes program started as a youth participation project for Winterland Director, Kevin Whitworth, that snowballed into a team building project for his Rockets Squirt House Silver Team.  From there is expanded into schools, hockey clubs, and rinks.

This year(2021-22) the Rockets Squirt C3  Team will have help from the Twin Bridges Lighting Hockey club. They will be collecting personal care items, writing letters, and in early February will be shipping Care Packages to our Military Members deployed overseas.  Winterland, Twin Bridges, and the Rockets have joined hands to make this a great opportunity for our kids.  

People interested in helping out can do one or all of several things:

*You can purchase items off the “special needs” list at your local store and drop them off at Webster Groves, Creve Coeur, East Alton, or Brentwood Ice Rinks in our Collection Boxes starting December 1st through January 27th.

*You can make a Monetary Donation to the Winterland-Rockets-Twin Bridges project and we will use it to cover shipping costs or buying items we need for the Care Packages.


Master Sergeant Tracy Cockrum(USAF) meets Rockets Goalie who sent her a package


For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Kevin Whitworth at Winterland by email at the link below.

Kevin Whitworth

Phone: 3147069755


Learn how your team can get involved