Former NHL goaltender in Ukraine for relief efforts
By Jordan Parker
Former Kindersley Klipper and NHL goaltender Michael Garnett is currently helping with relief efforts in Ukraine.
This is the second trip for Garnett and his wife Rebecca, and they find themselves purchasing goods for refugee centres in Lviv.
Garnett – who played for the Klippers in the 1999 season and did a stint with the expansion NHL squad the Atlanta Thrashers in 2005 – says his reasons for helping are two-fold.
“It’s a little bit complicated and a little bit simple. I’m ¾ Ukrainian. My great grandparents came over at the end of the 1800s during a big drought. They came from an area around Lviv,” he said.
“I felt like I had to do something to protect those people and help them. I was feeling strong emotions watching it happen on TV, and I couldn’t sit around and feel okay in Canada.”
Garnett is now settled in Calgary, Alta, but his career took him all over, including Russia. He spent more than a decade playing in Europe.
“I see people suffering and their homes being bombed. For the 17 years I played professionally, I spent a lot of time in Russia. I know Ukraine has a majority of Russian-speaking people, and I can speak it, and it’s a skill few volunteers from here have,” he said.
“There are so many young western-Europeans or North Americans wanting to do well, but communication can be a barrier. I knew I could be helpful.”
His passion has inspired his wife, Rebecca, also to help out as much as she can.
“She’s been incredibly supportive. She has a huge heart and a sense of adventure, and when she saw me in this state, she was in to help,” he said.
“She’s a WestJet pilot, and with her weeks off and vacation, we’ve ended up with the capacity to go.”
Just last week, they left Calgary and went to Poland, and as of May 23, 2022, they posted that they were in Lviv, Ukraine.
“We just want to fill gaps in and be useful in any way we can,” Garnett said prior to the latest trip.
They want to find opportunities to help in Romania or Moldova. Their first trip saw them go from Przemysl, Poland, to Rzeszow to purchase 50 suitcases for Ukrainian refugees who were fleeing. They used their funds and the ones gleaned from a GoFundMe to help.
“It seems like a simple thing, but people leaving are not world travellers. They don’t go on vacations, and they had no luggage. It’s difficult to pack your belongings when you have no way to store them. It was the number one thing people asked for,” he said.
Michael and Rebecca are trying to help aid centres with essential supplies for those who want to stay in the area.
“Lviv is hosting a majority of displaced Ukrainians who do not wish to leave the country. As a result, there are many displaced refugees here dependant on humanitarian aid,” wrote Rebecca on the GoFundMe on May 23. “On our way into Ukraine, we loaded up on supplies.”
“Tomorrow, we have personally rented a vehicle to source essential supplies needed at the shelters, such as hygiene products, more baby formula, and diapers. We are looking forward to putting the donations we have received towards essential goods needed right here in Ukraine. We will continue to cover 100% of our the overhead costs of the vehicle, gas, accommodation, and food.”
While Garnett and his wife Rebecca understand not everyone can go down to Ukraine, Garnett says the GoFundMe offers a tangible way for people to help.
“Family and friends can’t get time off, and we get that. We’ve been paying our way, but we know folks still want to help. We would rather they know where the money is spent when they donate, so we started the GoFundMe,” he said.
“If people want to follow along, be a part of something tangible, and see where their money is going, they can. We just want to do this ethically, keep receipts, and have those who donate be confident it’s going to a good cause.”
For Garnett, visiting and seeing what’s going on has only strengthened his resolve.
Michael and Rebecca Garnett (Screenshot from GoFundMe)
