Winnipeg girls peewee team makes semifinals of Good Deeds Cup

The good deeds of an all-girlsWinnipeg peewee hockey team couldbe worth $100,000 for a city homeless shelter.

The Winnipeg Polar Bears are part of this year's Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup, a competition run by the automaker and Hockey Canada that encouragesyoung teams to give back to the community.

The team of 11- and 12-year-olds focused their good deeds on Siloam Mission. Now they need as many people as possible to view anonline video of their efforts to move on to the next round.

The farther they go, the bigger the donation they can give to Siloam.

"We hope that everybody votes for it because we hope we can raise more money," said Heather Kirk, 11, who plays defence for the Bears and was the driving force behind getting the team involved in the competition.

"It's for a good cause. It doesn'ttake very long to just watch a one-minute video."

Heather first started volunteering at Siloam three years ago, when her mom, Rebecca Kirk, took her family along to one of her volunteer shifts.

Rebecca said her daughter felt an immediate connection to the shelter's work. She's since asked all her friends and family to donate to Siloam in lieu of gifts and even held a birthday party volunteering at the shelter with her friends.

"So when we saw the Good Deeds Cup advertised, she immediately wanted to do something with Siloam Mission," said Rebecca.

"I'm very proud of her."

'We all started yelling'

The contest requires teams to enter a short video of their good deeds. Players from the team donated the $410 they raised through a bake sale, spent a day volunteering at Siloam and collected four garbage bags worth of winter wear for the shelter's clients.

"They learned how privileged they are to be so fortunate, and that's pretty hard for kids that age they don't realize it unless they experience [it] for themselves," coach Dan Rochsaid about the team's work.

"I think that's the best thing that came out of it, just the realization of how lucky they really are."

The video of their efforts, which can be viewed on Chevrolet's website, was one of 10 chosen to move into the semifinals out of more than 100 submitted by teams across the country.

The team found out they'd been picked whenresults were announced during Saturday's NHL All-Star game broadcast.

It wasn't exactly a quiet experience, saidKatja Roch, 12.

"We all started yelling it was so loud."

Time to start promoting

The move up in the standings earned Siloam a $2,000 donation and a prize package for the team;a move into the top three is worth another $5,000 for the shelter.

The team has until Feb. 9 to get as many views of their video as possible, and that means the players and their parents are hitting social media.

They're the only all-girlsteam to get through, as well as the only team from Manitoba, and they're hoping that helps their chances.

"The more people who see it, the better," Rebecca said. "We're going to everything we can."

The winning team will be chosen by a panel of judges and the top teamwill get a $100,000 cheque for the charity of their choice. They'll also get a winner's ceremony in their hometownand will be featured on broadcast television.

Win or lose, it's just great to see young people helping out in their community, Luke Thiessen of Siloam Mission said.

"It's more than just the money. Having groups and kids and people in the community show that they care about what we're doing it just feels great," he said.

"And it can also turn into a lifelong passion for community and for giving back."

The Pas Huskieswere the ultimate winners of the 2018 Chevrolet Good Deeds Cup, donating last year's $15,000 top prize toOscar's Place, a homeless shelter in the northern Manitoba town.