-- Preds Help Many Through Non-traditional Community Relations Week --

Community Relations Week is somewhat of a Nashville Predators tradition. For seven straight years, the Preds have set aside time each October to give back to the community that supports them. Past years have seen players volunteering their time in the community, but with the current NHL work stoppage, this year’s annual week of giving had a slightly different look to it.

“Usually, it’s the players out in the community, but this year, we didn’t skip a beat,” Nashville Predators Community Relations Director Rebecca King said. “We have all of our staff out volunteering. The Predators staff is spreading Preds Pride and giving back to the community. They show up in their gold gear and they’re eager to volunteer and show they aren’t just sitting back and waiting for the lockout to end.”

Predators staff members spent the past week engaging in a variety of philanthropic tasks, including walking dogs and socializing cats for the Nashville Humane Society, helping with upkeep at Room In the Inn, preparing meals for families at Ronald McDonald House and flexing their gardening muscles at Hands On Nashville’s Urban Farm.

“We’re really excited to be working with the Predators,” Hands On Nashville Urban Agriculture Manager Josh Corlew said as two dozen Predators staff members worked the soil behind him. “They are doing work right now, literally from the ground up and they’ve been really big supporters of us.”

Through the contributions of more than 100 Predators staff members, the organization was able to put nearly 500 hours of service into the community this week.

“This week was special,” Nashville Predators President Sean Henry said. “We didn’t have the panache of the players out there, but we did have nearly 150 of our employees and I think we put about five or six hundred hours into the community. It’s more important during a lockout. We need to continue to not just engage with the community because that’s the responsible thing to do, but also to show that we can do it during a lockout. “


Predators staffers made stops at 11 different organizations and events around Middle Tennessee. Beneficiaries included: Hands on Nashville Urban Farm, Room In the Inn, American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, Lighthouse Christian School, The Contributor Release, Lakeshore Heartland Retirement Home, Ronald McDonald House, Nashville Humane Association, Nashville Zoo - Ghouls at Grassmere, the Preds G.O.A.L! Program and the American Heart Walk.                    

Additionally, several staff members were inspired by the week’s philanthropy and have organized their own Community Relations initiatives for upcoming Preds Pride days.