‘Tis the Season for giving and Dalyn Wakely knows about that all too well.
The driving force behind Wake’s Sake admits after being traded to the Barrie Colts earlier this season that he couldn’t leave behind the community initiative he began three years ago with the North Bay Battalion to help those in need.
“It’s something where once you start, you don’t call it quits on after three years and end it,” said Wakely of the charity which helps raise money and gather clothing donations. “For me, it was important to bring it here and work with Barrie to get something going.”
The Edmonton Oilers prospect has joined forces locally with The Busby Centre and Barrie Food Bank to collect non-perishable food items and clothing items such as coats, mittens, and scarves.
A food and clothing drive will be hosted at Sadlon Arena each month. The first drive was held last Thursday at the rink during Barrie’s game against the Niagara IceDogs.
The Colts donated $5,000 cheques to each of the Barrie Food Bank and Busby Centre.
“Myself, I feel like I owe it to the community and to the game to do something,” said the 20-year-old Wakely. “Anything helps and, for me, I’m just wanting to do my part, and help out each city I’m a part of.
“Barrie is close to my heart and soul.”
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Wakely kicked off the program with the Battalion in November of 2022. There he helped raise money and clothing donations for The Gathering Place and even got teammates to help him prepare and serve lunch at the North Bay charity.
For his efforts, he was named the 2022-23 recipient of the Dan Snyder Memorial Trophy as the OHL’s Humanitarian of the Year Award.
“I’m just grateful to be in the scenario I am to be able to play hockey every day and to have such great people around us,” said Wakely, who has 14 goals and 14 assists in 24 games with Barrie this season. “The community, everybody, they work so hard to make our life easy at what we do.”
A leader on and off the ice, that Wakely would take the time to do something like this in the community is of no surprise to Marty Williamson.
“He’s just a great example,” said the Colts’ general manager and head coach. “He’s a guy that has gone through the league and spent his four years. He just carries himself well. Credit to our staff, we did a lot of homework when we acquired him. We gave up a great piece (in Shamar Moses), but we knew we were getting a special kid, and everything we were told he’s lived up to it.
“I think he’s going to be a big leader for us, come playoff time.”
Wakely is hoping he can help draw attention to the Barrie Food Bank and Busby Centre and all the good they do in the community.
“The Busby Centre does a lot of great things for Barrie and I’m just trying to be an extra resource to show them off a little bit, get them a little bit of advertising,” said Wakely. “Not that they need it, but anything helps.”
Food donations and clothing items are important throughout the year, but especially around the holidays.
“The community is going to play a big part in the donations and the drives we have at the rink, and we’re definitely looking for their support on this,” said Wakely. “I couldn’t be happier to bring this to Barrie and get it going.”
Future drives and event nights for Wake’s Sake will be announced on the team’s social media sites on X @OHLBarrieColts, Facebook, and Instagram.
