The outpouring of grief and support from around Canada and the world for the Humboldt Broncos has been nothing short of incredible.
More than $9 million has been raised through a GoFundMe campaign for the families affected by the terrible highway crash that killed much of the roster of a beloved junior hockey team.
Sixteen people were killed when the team’s bus collided with a tractor-trailer last Friday.
A trend on social media saw many people leave hockey sticks out in front of their homes in support of the #PutYourSticksOut campaign to show support for the Saskatchewan hockey team.
But one such moment of remembrance saw hundreds of thousands of people across Canada don hockey jerseys on April 12 as part of #JerseysforHumboldt campaign in honour of those affected by the fatal bus crash. Several schools around the NWT were part of that. Schools in Hay River, Fort Smith, Norman Wells, Yellowknife and Tuktoyaktuk were among those posting photos on social media showing their support for the Broncos.
Michael Duclos, the principal at Mackenzie Mountain School in Norman Wells, said it was something important for his students to do.
“Everyone knows how tragic a time this has been for the community of Humboldt,” he said. “We just want them to know that we're thinking about them and we care about them.”
More than 100 students came in with jerseys on, he said, and for those who didn't come in with one, there was still a way they could feel part of it all.
“Our secretary printed off tags with the Broncos logo on it that they could wear in place of a jersey,” he said. “We wanted everyone to be a part of it.”
At Mangilaluk School in Tuktoyaktuk, the entire staff and student body came with jerseys on April 12 and there was an explanation to students about why they were being worn.
Krista Cudmore, the school's principal, said a letter came from the superintendent of the Beaufort Delta Education Council about wearing the jerseys.
“We had the teachers in each classroom explain to the students what had happened in Humboldt and why everyone was wearing jerseys,” she said. “Depending on the age of the class, the subject matter was dealt with in certain ways but everyone understood.”
One of the teachers at the school even coordinated a card-making exercise at the school, Cudmore added, and all of the completed cards will be sent to the team.
“Some of the primary classes had images of the team up on the walls while they were doing that,” she said. “The plan (was) to mail the cards out on (April 13).”
Diamond Jenness Secondary School in Hay River had dozens of its staff and students decked out in hockey jerseys, which was about three-quarters of the school population, according to Kim King, the school's career and academic counsellor.
She said the members of the Hay River RCMP detachment also came in wearing jerseys to speak about what happened in Humboldt.
“They gave a short summation of the events,” she said. “The message was simply to enjoy what you have today because life is short. It could have been a group from Yellowknife or Hay River that it happened to because they have to travel by bus to get to sporting events.”
That seemed to be the same message Duclos passed along to his students.
“I have colleagues from Saskatchewan who knew about the team and it's so crazy hard to take,” he said. “These were kids with so much potential and their futures ahead of them. I have kids of my own and I can't even imagine what those parents who lost their children are going through.”
The Broncos themselves were keeping track of what was happening around the country and tweeted out a simple message of thanks on April 12.
“We see you. We hear you. We love you. We are all #HumboldtStrong.”