A huge THANK YOU to everyone who participated in the third annual Japers' Rink Charity Pledge Drive! We pledged $2104.90 on behalf of the Carson Kolzig Foundation! And even though the Caps season didn't exactly go as expected, there were some nice highlights, made all the better seeing that pledge total climb higher with each game.  The awesome folks who make up the Japers' community make this possible every season. I can't thank you enough.

Curious as to much much you're on the hook for after the regular season? Check out the pledge tracking sheet! If you spot any errors, please let me know and I'm happy to correct them. This goes double if you were part of any stats-based bets.

And now, on to the playoffs!

Works the same as before. Post your playoff pledges in the comments, or e-mail them to me

Didn't participate in the regular season? No worries! Join us for the playoffs. It's fun! It will help kids! DO IT FOR OLIE!

But wait, there's more.....

Becca's Playoff Charity Challenge!

Our very own Becca is willing to make a great sacrifice during these playoffs: follow Jaromir Jagr on twitter until the Flyers are eliminated! The challenge? Ten people must donate a minimum of $5 each, with the money going to the Carson Kolzig Foundation. The deadline to commit is midnight US eastern time on April 11. Same deal as other pledges: post here or e-mail me, and specify it's for Becca's challenge.

Happy pledging, and LET'S GO CAPS!

Playoffs!

Playoff-bound! Finally!

One more regular season game to go. What a long strange trip it's been.

As off this morning, we're at $1914.20! After I add in all the pledges based on season stats, we'll clear the $2,000. And hopefully there will be a very long playoff run that helps lift that total much higher.

Wondering what you've pledged so far? Check out the pledge sheet!

That was fun

Beating the defensing Stanley Cup Champs when the Caps have nearly $30 million in players sitting up in the press box; doesn't get much better than that. And a hat trick! Good night.

Also good because the Caps came back from giving up the first goal, which is a generous $20 bonus pledge. Helped crack the $1200 mark! Go Caps!

I hope everyone enjoys the all star breaks. Cheer on Dennis Wideman in Ottawa and if you're going to Atlantic City for the AHL festivities, have a great trip! I'll see everyone back here in February.

Wins, losses, half-wins

Since the last update there are been wins. And losses. And goals. And a lack of goals. And one half-win--quite possibly the least satisfying overtime loss ever.

After yesterday's game, we have now pledged $1154.38! As always, it's never too late to get in on the pledge drive fun.

Wondering how much you're on the hook for so far? The spreadsheet is updated! (and updated more frequently than the blog)

Happy New Year!

I've been very bad about updating--there's only so many times I like to write "Caps lost and only scored one goal." Fortunately, that wasn't the case over the holidays and there were lots of goals and lots of wins and so I am happy to report that we are kicking off 2012 with $908.82 pledged! The Caps kick off the 2012 portion of the season tonight, hosting Calgary.

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season, that you ate well, and enjoyed a lot of hockey!

Wins and Goals, how about that?!

Not only does it seem that the Caps and finally back on track--back in the win column--they're also scoring goals! Which is really helping the numbers, in addition to making Caps hockey a heck of a lot more fun to watch. Headed into tomorrow's showdown with the wounded Flyers, we've pledged $718.07, plus all the throw-ins I haven't calculated yet.

Just a reminder: pick-up hockey/fundraiser planning is still going on. Pop on over to Japers' and check out the planning conversation! I hope to see a lot of people there, on the ice and in the stands!

Back in the Win Column!

feels good! After the games against the Penguins and Senators,w e are now up to $631.76.

Interested in playing pick-up hockey for a good cause (or watching pick up hockey for a good cause)? Planning for the Japers' Rink Pick-up Game is underway! If you're interested in playing and/or helping us make arrangements for the game and the post-game party, we want you! We are also pulling together items to be raffled at the party, with all the money to support Carosn Kolzig Foundation. If you'd like to donate an item, please contact me.

Not-So-Awesome November round-up

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving (or a nice regular Thursday, for our Canadian pledgers)! That was pretty much the bright spot of  November--what an ugly month of hockey.

Caps are off today, which means they have completed the November portion of their schedule, bring us up to $592.66 in pledges for the season!

Tomorrow is one of the highlights of the season--Pittsburgh comes to town. This is a great game to offer up some bonus pledges for, or jump into pledge drive for the first time. Let's Go Caps!

All sorts of ugly, and an administrative note

I've been waiting very very patiently for the Caps to win before I posted an update. Apparently, the Caps have forgotten how to win, so now I get to post a sad update. No wins and no goals (and one 17-save night) means the numbers didn't climb all that high. Our mid-November total is $487.20. Tomorrow night Caps play in Toronto on Hockey Night in Canada--fingers crossed for a big Caps win!

Administrative note: I made a couple of back-end changes to the spreadsheet management to make things a little easier for me. It appears that everything went smooth and nothing was lost, but if you do spot anything wrong with you pledge, give me a heads up.

Dallas and Devils round 1

Let's just skip right over the Dallas game, eh?

Caps roared back last night to get another win and rack up the pledge numbers! This morning, we're up to $445.34! We have a couple a friendly wagers on tonight's game, so expect the numbers to skyrocket tomorrow. Let's go Caps!

Weekend round-up

Caps played Friday and Saturday. A split decision. Good news is lots of money pledged and a couple of friends jumped on the pledge drive bandwagon, bringing our season pledge total to $403.25!

On the schedule this week is a game vs. Dallas Tuesday, and then home-and-home with New Jersey Friday and Saturday. Let's Go Caps!

That was Ugly

A win is a win and they don't give style points in the NHL (although Nick Backstrom deserves a couple based on those incredible goals last night!), but yikes was that an ugly game. Eleven saves? EEK. But, hey, 5 goals and a win, that's nice.

We're up to $338.21! Which is a pretty awesome total, if I do say so myself.

October round-up

Well, that was a less than pleasant way to end the month. Let's juts skip those two rather disappointing games (I stayed up for that?!) and move on...

October's grand total in pledges is $281.70!

November will be a busy month with 14 games on the schedule.

Curious as to what you've pledged so far? Check out the pledge tracking sheet.

Remember, it's never too late to join!

7 goals for 7 wins

and $256.47 for pledge drive so far!

More goals, saves, wins! We've passed $200!

Any win over the Flyers is a great win. But 5 goals, 40 saves, and a win? That's all sorts of awesome, and helped us pass the $200 pledged mark. Tonight, we're up to $214.90! Onwards to Saturday and a date with the Red Wings. Let's Go Caps!

As always, you can join at any point during the season, for however many games you want. So if you just want to pledge for Saturday, or just games against the Penguins, or games played on nights with full moons, that's cool. The more the merrier.

10/18 vs. Florida

Last night's game brought the season total to $178.75! Quite the fun game, too. We would clear the $200 mark against Philly (hopefully) or the Red Wings. Is everyone ready for the next two games?

10/15 Ottawa update

Hardly the greatest game I've ever seen, but there were saves, goals, and a win, so we'll take it. Last night's game against Ottawa brought the season total up to $146.98. Wondering what your season total is? Pledge tracking sheet.

10/13 vs. Pens update

Heck of a game no? How is your heart doing? On to the good news!


Tomas Vokoun made somewhere around a billion saves (ok, "only" 39), which really went a long way to boosting tonight's pledge total. Over three games, we are now up to $122.00!  That includes me promised matching pledges for all goals scored.

Over 3 games, we're averaging $40 per game. That work out to $3200+ over the season. Awesome!

And it's never too late to join in all the fun! You can always leave a comment letting me know you want to start pledging, or shoot me an e-mail.

next game is Saturday night vs. Ottawa. Let's Go Caps!

DJ's story, and Penguins Game Bonus!

Bernadette sent me her son's story today, to share what the Crason Kolzig Foundation has done for them.

Without the donations my son would not be able to do the Social Skills classes at the Responding to Autism Center which is funded by the Carson Kolzig Foundation. Thanks to these classes my son DJ has been able to join Cub Scouts and participate with the other kids. 3 years ago, we never dreamed we would be able to do this. He LOVES it. I got to hang out at Cub Scout Camp with him (1st time parents are suppose to hang out), he played, did projects, etc just like the other kids. COULDN'T tell a difference. He was just a "normal" boy. Didn't run and hide, loved his buddy for the day, played football, baseball, etc. I was bursting with pride! 

DJ is in Religious Education class at our church. I got to witness him get up in front of the class and do a presentation! He sings and participates in his music class. He is also in Chess Club at his school. I could go on and on but I think you have an idea now. :) 

DJ was a boy that would hide under tables, behind doors, if he was to sit on a carpet square he would hide behind that also. We fully believe in the classes and are extremely grateful for the scholarships so he can get the help he needs. I can never say this enough but I love the Carson Kolzig Foundation. We are very appreciative for all the help and support we have received for DJ. The social skills classes have made a HUGE difference.

ALSO: TONIGHT! CAPS! PENS! Let's Go Caps!
And to make tonight extra super worthwhile, I will be matching pledges for every goal scored. So, if you pledged $1 for every goal scored, I'll match you. So get those pledges in!

Spectrum Blend

Can't wait for the season to be over to make your donation? The Carson Kolzig Foundation as a limited number of bottles of Spectrum Blend available! Fromm Kellee Balcom, Executive Director of the Carson Kolzig Foundation:

If folks are willing to contribute $250 or more, we have an incredible wine that was

especially blended by CKF donors.  I know folks say, "IT IS GREAT" but this

is really good. It is a blend of 65% malbec, 30 syrah and 5% merlot and is

truly amazing.  I think we only have about 6-10 bottles left in varying

sizes, but thought it might be interesting to see if folks in the DC market

were interested in making a contribution if this was an added benefit.  The

bottles are hand painted with a logo designed specifically to benefit autism

programs via the Carson Kolzig Foundation.

 The bottles look really awesome:

To order check out the Spectrum Blend page. If you order, I'll mark you down as paid up for this season! Or, it can be in addition to go per-game pledge total, your choice!