Foundation Friday : Selling Fandom

Fed up with the way the Kane situation was handled at the first Chicago Blackhawks press conference of the season a die hard Blackhawks fan decided to do something to show the team and the world how she felt.

Kat Velez no longer felt comfortable supporting her beloved team. She needed a break.

I still love hockey as a sport, but now I don’t want to watch the hometown team.

• Kat Velez

However, Velez felt like a jerk because she’s still technically a season ticket holder and has given a lot of money to the team. Taking a break wasn’t a big enough stand for her to take. She needed to do something bigger. Something which had meaning. So, Velez decided to sell her fandom to support the fight against domestic violence. A fan of any team from any hockey league can donate to have Velez root for their team. At the end of the week whoever donates the most money will get to choose the team Velez roots for the next week. Yes, even if you are a fan of the Australian Ice Hockey League your she will root for you, as long as she has access to a live stream of the game.

So, I’m literally taking out the trash one day when I came up with the idea: Why don’t I have people donate their money to a charity of my choice and then I can root for whoever they want me to for a week.

• Kat Velez

Since the beginning of the 2015-16 season Velez has rooted for the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. This week she is rooting for the Blues again. The Blues fans have been putting up the money to make this Blackhawks fan cheer for their arch nemesis. Velez has actually quite enjoyed cheering for the Blues alongside their fans.

I think the weirdest situation was definitely rooting for the Blues, since they’ve always been the Bad Guys to the Blackhawks’ Good Guys. The fanbase was probably the nicest out of the teams I’ve rooted for so far, once they stopped giving me crap for buying my fandom for the week.

• Kat Velez

Next week's fundraiser goes live NOW! (You're done for a month, #STLBlues fans. #Pens fans can donate again!) https://t.co/GsEvEZtQYR

— fuck it up, buttercup (@KattyCorner) November 8, 2015

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Velez is already a big fan and supporter of “Hockey Fights Domestic Violence” but wasn’t quite sure if this was the organization she wanted to support. Knowing she wanted to stay in the realm of fighting against domestic violence while supporting her hometown Velez chose to raise funds for Family Rescue.

They’re located on the south side of Chicago. As a person originally from that area, I felt like it was important to focus my efforts there.

• Kat Velez

For survivors of domestic violence they have a shelter, affordable housing, and a daycare for their children. There is a hotline for those suffering as well.

Currently a lot of programs in Illinois, like Family Rescue, are not receiving the funds they are normally given. So, what Velez is doing is definitely making a difference to the lives of those on the south side of Chicago.

I know my fundraiser is a drop in the bucket compared to what the state would give them, but it’s something.

• Kat Velez

Of all the fundraiser websites out there Velez opted to go with Crowdrise because they take less money than most crowdfunding sites. 97% of the money raised goes to Family Rescue. 3% goes to Crowdrise. 0% goes to Velez.