Ken Dwinnell has been helping kids play hockey for most of his life. Now he wants to make sure kids in Canada’s far north also have a chance to play the sport he loves.

The Petrolia area man is collecting used hockey equipment to send to Attawapiskat near James Bay.

Off and on over the past 15 years, Dwinnell has been working with a church group which ministers to First Nations Communities through a hockey ministry.

Gord Love and his group take the equipment to the northern communities to distribute it and organize winter sports clinics for youth.

Love says the team watches as local residents help fit the youth the equipment they normally couldn’t afford. “They get pretty excited and the parents who are with them are pretty appreciative.”

Dwindell has sent “truckloads” of everything from skates to pads to the north over the years. This year, that truck will include a lot of hockey sweaters. “Mooretown changed their sweaters about two years ago and my garage is full of the old ones,” he says.

Anyone who wants to donate some of their old equipment to the cause can drop it off at 4626 Kettle Lane or call Dwinnell at 519-882-1648 for more information.