The fourth annual Green Shirt Day for organ donation awareness is set for Sunday, April 6 from 2:30 to 4:30 pm in the parking lot of the SLS Centre, and organizer and co-founder Michelle Hounslow couldn’t be more excited.
The event marks the anniversary of the Humboldt, Saskatchewan bus crash tragedy, and is dedicated not only to that memory, but also to raising awareness of the importance of organ donation. The five-hour event honours what has become known as the Logan Boulet Effect. Boulet was a 21-year-old defenceman for the Humboldt Broncos, and one of 16 people killed in the tragic bus crash. He succumbed to his injuries on April 7, 2018. By donating his organs, he saved six lives.
The parking lot at the SLS Centre turns into a sea of green T-Shirts, all playing a giant game of road hockey. Players wear green to honour all the victims and families of the Humboldt crash and to continue Logan Boulet’s legacy of organ and tissue donation.
Cochranite Hounslow said the ripple effect was that over 100,000 Canadians were moved to sign up to be organ and tissue donors – the Logan Boulet Effect.
“One of my favourite days each year is Green Shirt Day," she said. "It’s really important to me to honour Logan and the whole Boulet family."
She said the Boulet family made a very generous, difficult decision in the hardest moment of their lives.
Hounslow knows how important organ donation is, having received a kidney herself in 2018. She was waiting for a kidney transplant at the time of the crash.
“When the Humboldt crash happened I didn’t know that I would have my surgery just over a month after, so it was a challenging, uncertain, tricky time for me,” she said.
Hounslow had a friend lined up to give her a kidney, but said not everyone is as fortunate. Some people pass away while on the wait list.
“I love coming together with young hockey players and special guests, and we always have other transplant recipients, living donors have been there, we’ve had donor family members who’s loved ones have passed away; so it’s just a fun, whirlwind of a day where we just get to have fun,” she said.
The free, family-friendly event is open to all-ages. Equipment is provided for the drop-in road hockey games. There will be giveaways, door prizes, special guests-- something fun for all ages.
For more information on Green Shirt Day and the Logan Boulet Effect go to #greenshirtday #loganbouleteffect @greenshirtday.
Cochrane's junior hockey teams, the Generals and Chaos are supporters of the event.
