While the city of El Paso, Texas, remains in shock after a mass shooting during the weekend, the Rhinos of the Western States Hockey League announced a number of ways that they plan on helping victims and their families following the tragic events.
To start, the team is donating $10K to the El Paso Community Foundation. They’re also planning on donating proceeds from a jersey auction after they play two exhibition contests versus Mexico’s Under-20 men’s national team on Sept. 28-29.
The Rhinos shared the news, and their condolences, in this tweet, with the hashtag #ElPasoStrong
#ElPasoStrong pic.twitter.com/MtFpOjarCD
— Rhino Hockey (@El_Paso_Rhinos) August 5, 2019
Rhinos coach Cory Herman spoke about a city in shock with the news to NHL.com’s William Douglas, while also pointing out the significance of El Paso’s exhibition games against a team from Mexico.
“There were people from Mexico who died that day too,” Herman said. “This is a loving city; well, it’s really the biggest small town you’ll ever visit. This is the type of place that if you’re broken down along side of the road, within a couple of minutes you have people stopping trying to help you. People are just in shock right now.”
Douglas explains that the Rhinos’ $10K donation will come, in large part, from ticket sales the team earned while becoming repeat champions of the WSHL in 2018 and 2019.
NBC News has more on the mass shooting here. The El Paso Community Foundation has a spot where people can donate money to victims and their families at this address.