The Boys Varsity Hockey Team will do its part tonight (Feb. 15) to raise awareness for active and former military members and veterans. The team will wear camo jerseys in their game against Deerfield for Military Appreciation night.

The game, at Lossone Rink, will honor the work of “Soldier On,” which assists homeless military veterans.

According to the Soldier On website, they are a “private nonprofit organization committed to ending veteran homelessness.” Since 1994, “Soldier On” has provided homeless veterans with housing and supportive services, supporting them from homelessness to homeownership.

They offer three housing locations: a 165-bed shelter in Leeds, Mass., a 71-bed transitional living faculty, and a 39-unit housing cooperation in Pittsfield, Mass.

The Boys’ team will be donating all proceeds from the game to this organization to help the cause. Proceeds, according to Coach Derek Cunha, will come from a donation link and a raffle for one of the camo jerseys the team will wear during the game.

There’s another reason to donate, perhaps less virtuous but definitely worth it. If the team raises its goal of $1,500, the whole team will sing a song a song onstage during an all-school assembly.

Alex Berg, a senior defenseman, believes this is a great event to raise awareness for all those who have served.

“Two of my grandfathers served in World War II, one in the Air Force and one in the Marines,” he said. “I believe this is a great event to raise awareness for all veterans who have served, and those who were wounded and do not have much support. For me, the support for the veterans in my family means a lot because many members of my family have served.”

“Winning this game is important to me,” said Berg. “Not only are we playing our rivals, but we are also playing for a great cause.”

This charity game is in place of “Movember,” which the Boys’ team usually partakes in. The team changed to a Military Appreciation game instead to do something different.

“The idea to switch to a Military Appreciation game came from the team,” Cunha said. “Even though Movember is a great cause, this change makes it easier for us to raise money and not stretch ourselves too thin when asking for donations.”

At the game, Captain Tim Rego explained, there will be individual boxes for each player for donations. The player who receives the most donations will get a chance to smash a whipped cream pie in Coach Cunha’s face.