Evan Thomas Foundation helps several community groups

Life changed in a tragic way for so many families on April 6, 2018, as 16 people died and 13 were injured in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash.

Evan Thomas played hockey for the Broncos and was one of many to lose his life as a result of the crash.

Evan’s father, Scott Thomas, said the family has spent so much time caught up in tragedy. Now it’s time to find their smiles again, he told 650 CKOM’s John Gormley on Friday.

“We find ourselves at the stage where we’re trying to remember the good times, we’re trying to remember the positive impact Evan had,” Thomas said.

Helping that healing journey is giving to the community in Evan’s name. Scott Thomas and his family set up the Evan Thomas Foundation, which holds fundraising events so it can give back to the community and groups that were close to Evan’s heart.

This past year the foundation held three fundraising events, which included a peewee hockey tournament, a hockey day at Merlis Belsher Place and a bantam hockey tournament.

They raised more than $21,000 and recently distributed that money to seven different groups, including Saskatoon Minor Hockey.

“(There are) three bursaries we’re going to give away to kids who can’t afford their membership and entry fees into hockey, so we’re going to allow three kids to have a better hockey experience,” Thomas said.

It wasn’t only organizations that were helped.

“Finally, we thought it was really important to help out coach Darcy Haugan’s boys, Carson and Jackson. They’re going to have a tough road ahead, so we gave them some money to put into their RESPs and hopefully get them a year or two of tuition when they get to that stage of their lives,” Thomas said.

The other groups helped by the memorial fund include: The Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation; the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association; the Kinsmen Inner City Hockey League; and, the Saskatoon Baseball Council. The foundation also set up a scholarship in Evan’s name at Vanier Collegiate in Moose Jaw, where Evan attended.

Thomas says the family plans to continue with the same fundraisers every year, and once the money is raised, they will choose which groups will benefit from the money raised in his son’s name.