JETS chief executive Lawrie McKinna hopes it's raining teddy bears as well as goals for the A-League clash against Melbourne City at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The Jets have launched a charity initiative in which they want fans and members to bring a new toy teddy bear to the game which will be collected and distributed to Hunter charities for Christmas presents.
Dutch giants Feyenoord and a number of clubs in Europe host similar events. It is also a Christmas tradition at a host of major ice hockey clubs in North America.
"The most Feyenoord have collected was 36,000 teddy bears," McKinna said. "We would like to get a few hundred to start. The Terrace Novocastrian supporters group came to me with the idea. They posted it on their facebook page and have received 1200 likes, so hopefully people support it.
"We will have 20 elves on the field with Santa bags to collect the teddy bears. Any child who brings a new teddy bear to give away will get a free ticket to the game.
"We are going to make it an annual event and hopefully it grows and grows."
The Jets have previously hosted a community Christmas lunch.
"It depends how many bears we collect, but the plan is to distribute them to Ronald McDonald House, John Hunter Children's Hospital, Nova For Women and Children refuge, Zara's House Refugee Women and Children's Centre and Hunter White Ribbon Committee," McKinna said.
