For the Reporter

The Seattle Thunderbirds and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Western Washington & Alaska (RMHC) raised $190,000 for the charity at the 17th annual Hockey Challenge at the ShoWare Center last Saturday.

The Challenge has now raised more than $4.7 million for the RMHC in 17 years.

Hockey teams were formed by sponsors to raise money to play in the Challenge. All proceeds from the Challenge directly support operations of the Seattle Ronald McDonald House, which provides a “home-away-from-home” for children and their families receiving medical treatment at Seattle Children’s Hospital, making each day a little easier.

Last year the Seattle Ronald McDonald House provided 28,412 nights of housing and services to 471 families.

There were seven games played during the Challenge last Saturday. The first five games were played by seven teams from various divisions at Microsoft, a team from Concur, and two women’s teams made up of local recreational league players.

The T-Birds-Silvertips game followed the five Challenge games, and the event was capped off by the Celebrity All-Star Game featuring several former T-Birds.

“We are so thankful to the Seattle Thunderbirds and all of the teams and sponsors that helped make the 17th Hockey Challenge such a success,” said Vanessa Kirk Briley, co-director of development at RMHC. “Every year we are amazed by the generosity and enthusiasm of the players and fans that come out to support the families at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House. We feel very fortunate to have such great partners.”

“We appreciate all the hard work and time the players from the Challenge teams, T-Birds alumni, sponsors, volunteers and local celebrities put in to make the 2015 Hockey Challenge so successful,” said Colin Campbell, T-Birds vice president. “The Challenge is such an important annual event for us and it is great to see everyone helping raise funds for RMHC. The funds raised will help families staying at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House concentrate on getting families members healthy.”