Lakeland Lightning Hockey has achieved a remarkable feat, raising nearly $50,000 with fresh Canadian bacon over the last three years to support its hockey programs.
About Lakeland Lightning HockeyÂ
Founded by Joel Miller, the Lakeland Lightning Hockey Academy started as a spring team and swiftly evolved into a competitive force in their local league, the Premiere Hockey League. The essence of the club lies in its close-knit community.
Based in Glendon, Alberta, Lakeland Lightning currently has three elite hockey teams. U11, U13 Minor and U13 Major.
The club really is the epitome of a hockey family: Cathy (Joel’s wife) is a trainer for the club, and Joel and Cathy’s two kids, Lyla and Brody each play on one of the U13 teams. Joel Coaches both U13 teams and the U11 team is headed by Coach Blake Villecourt. Blake is a long-time hockey parent who also has two kids in the Academy – Urijah on the U13 team and Izaias on the U11 team.
 U11 Major – 2023
 U13 Minor – 2023
U13 Major – 2023
A strong community and dedicated volunteers are what truly make the programming possible.
We had the opportunity to speak to Shantel, Lakeland Lightning Hockey’s U13 Team Manager, about Lightning Hockey and their experience with TeamFund Fundraising.
For Shantel, taking the team manager role at the club was a “no-brainer,” because Coach Joel makes it so easy. On top of that, many of the families who are part of the hockey community have been part of the academy for 5+ years and the team feels like a big family.
Keeping Lakeland Lightning Hockey Academy Accessible & Affordable with Bacon
As the founder, Joel is passionate about bringing elite hockey to his community. Understanding the financial strain of hockey, It’s also important for Joel that the programming is affordable so that any kid who wants to play can get on the ice.
Lakeland Lightning holding their TeamFund cheque:Â $11,611 raised in October 2023.
The club runs raffle tables and small fundraisers to offset some of the hockey costs, but their biggest money-making fundraiser is the Bacon Fundraiser, which they run twice a year.
The Bacon Fundraiser helps cover costs like ice time, tournaments, and buses for trips.Â
In Fall 2023, Lakeland Hockey raised over $11,500 in just ONE fundraising campaign.
Since their first bacon fundraiser in 2021, the team has consistently outperformed their previous fundraisers.
Parents and supporters RAVE about how delicious the bacon is. Not only is it fresh and tasty, but it’s cheaper than Costco and comes in convenient packaging that’s easy for families to divvy up in a way that suits them.
TeamFund Makes Fundraising Easy
This was Shantel’s first time running the bacon fundraiser, and she commends the seamless support provided by Dominique and Susan at TeamFund.
Any questions she had were answered in minutes, and despite the change in organizers over the years, the fundraiser continues to bring in more and more funding each year!
“TeamFund makes the whole fundraiser so easy!”
Shantel, U13 Team Manager & Fundraising Organizer
Just look at how they’ve been able to grow their fundraising efforts, running a bacon fundraiser twice a year:Â
2021 Spring: $3,400Â Fall: $7,585 | Â 2022 Spring: $7,161 Fall: $8,910 | 2023 Spring: $9,451 Fall: $11,633 |
ALL TIME: $48,120
TeamFund handles the logistics, payments, and tracking, which frees up Shantel’s time to connect with the community and gather volunteers for delivery day.
Their fundraising success means they can keep the sport of hockey affordable for their upcoming hockey stars.
Congratulations to the Lakeland Lightning Hockey for your fundraising success, and we can’t wait until your next fundraiser!
FEATURED GROUPS are success stories that take it to the next level and have been working with TeamFund for at least 3 years or 5 campaigns.Â
Parents and supporters trust the platform (and love the food!), and organizers love how easy it is.
These groups leverage Teamfund's online tools to generate a consistent flow of revenue to support their members and use us as one of their tried and true go-to fundraisers.
Food Fundraising is Easy with TeamFund
Our sign-up process is as easy as 1-2-3!Â
01 Download a Fundraising Package: Our free fundraising package is meant to be shared with your committee and includes important information, goal calculators, and more!
02 Find Fundraisers in Your Area: Choose a tasty fundraiser for your group, availability varies by area (Delivery to AB, SK, BC, YT, NWT, Winnipeg).
03 Sign Up Your Fundraising Group: Ready to get going? All you need to do is sign up for a fundraiser and start planning.
Get your own online store to make sharing your fundraiser and collecting payments easy!
You gather the supporters, we’ll take care of the reporting and logistics.Â
Did you know? Even though we are an online fundraising platform, we are human! Throughout your fundraiser, we are here to answer any questions you have.
Fundraise for any season and any reason with TeamFund Fundraising!Â
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