Local puck jockeys battled for trophies and bragging rights at a hockey game and fund-raiser for Parents of Blind Children of New York on March 24 at Aviator Sports Center.
The organizer and only blind player says that the organization helps blind kids and their families better enjoy sports, education, and life in general.
“The parents want better education, quality of life and recreation for their children,” said Tommy Needham. “It gears blind kids for the future. There are obstacles that can be overcome.”
Parents of Blind Children of New York is part of the National Federation for Blind, and supports blind children and their families through braille education and helping with guide dogs, among other services. The hockey game, officially called the Tom Needham-Rick Welch Ice Hockey Fundraiser, is named after these two late veterans.
Vietnam War Army veteran Tom Needham, Tommy’s father, died of Agent Orange-related cancer last year, and Welch was a Marine who also served in Vietnam, loved hockey, and went blind before he died. This year’s event sought to highlight other local heros as well, including Vietnam veterans Will Lynch, who was the father of Tommy’s teammate Christopher Lynch, and Arnold Meyers, who was Tommy’s uncle— as well as Jason Aiello, a teen who died of cancer recently.
“It had a military feel this year,” said Needham, who was born in Bay Ridge, and is the fund-raising chairman for the organization.
Attendees paid to get in, and could buy raffle tickets to hockey memorabilia and other sports-related prizes, with all proceeds going to Parents of Blind Children of New York. Needham estimates they raised more than $1,500 in total. Various local and regional organizations sponsored the game, including the Soyka Bifulco Law Firm, Bullet Special Services, the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Staten Island Yankees, the New Jersey Devils, and Major League Screen Printing. C4 Event Group provided the music.
The tight game between Team Moscow Penguins and Needham’s Team Rugged ended with a 7–6 victory for the Penguins. Needham didn’t let his lack of sight hinder his ability to pass, shoot and defend. His teammates simply yelled to him when he was to get the puck, and he did the same when he passed it, which wasn’t difficult, he said.
“Understand that in hockey, you already have your stick on the ground,” said Needham. “They pass the puck to me and say ‘Tommy, I’m passing.’”
The hockey players hit each other as they do in the pros, but year after year refuse to check Needham, despite his insistence that they can.
“I even trash talk them,” he said.
The fund-raiser is a yearly event that Aviator Sports Center hosts for free as a way to support Parents of Blind Children of New York.
