Current Player Initiatives
Each season, the Pittsburgh Penguins players join the Penguins Foundation to be champions of our local youth through the power of hockey. Here are a few recent initiatives by the Pens that have positively impacted kids in our community.
Penguins for a Day
Each season, children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation are signed to honorary one-day contracts making them official Pittsburgh Penguins for the day. These new team members are geared up in their very own custom Pens jerseys prior to hitting the ice for a full day of memories with their hockey heroes.
Project Bundle-Up
When autumn leaves fall, it marks the time of year for the Penguins Project Bundle-Up Shopping Day in partnership with the Salvation Army and DICK'S Sporting Goods. After a team practice, Penguins players spend an afternoon shopping with children in need of outerwear for the cold winter months. The children depart with new coats, boots, hats, gloves and scarves - along with autographs from their favorite Pens players.
Children’s Hospital Visit
A Christmas tradition that began in the early 1980s, the annual Penguins Children’s Hospital Visit is truly an incredible and spirited event. During the visit, each player shares the joy of the holidays with the kids staying at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh by stopping by each child’s room and providing special gifts selected by the team.
Rainbow Kitchen Meal Serve
American born players annually visit the Rainbow Kitchen to serve a Thanksgiving meal leading into the holiday season. The Penguins players are proud to assist Rainbow Kitchen, which provides a vital safety net for hungry children, struggling families, low-income elderly, disabled individuals and local residents who are homeless or unemployed.
Crosby's Charity Suite
Sidney Crosby welcomes children from local charities to his personal suite to enjoy Penguins home games. These special gameday guests are treated to an in-game welcome announcement, visit from Iceburgh and a gift from Sid as a memento to remember the game.
Rust's Seats for Strength
Through Seats for Strength, Bryan Rust welcomes children to each home game with VIP tickets and a post-game meet-and-greet. In recent seasons, he has supported local kids from Allegheny Family Network and UPMC Western Behavioral Health's COOL Zone program. This season's Seats for Strength partner organization is Friends Who Stutter, commonly known as FRIENDS. These little superstars share their strength with Bryan each game during an exciting evening of Pens hockey.
Malkin's "I'm Score for Kids"
Evgeni Malkin's "I'm Score for Kids" initiative launched at the start of the 2022.23 season to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) of Pittsburgh and Morgantown. Evgeni, who wears No. 71, has pledged to donate $710 per each of his regular-season points. During the 2023.24 season and with 67 points, Malkin’s donation to RMHC is $47,570. Local McDonald's restaurants have matched Malkin's donation, increasing the total donation this season to RMHC to $95,140. Malkin and local McDonald’s restaurants have donated a grand total of $213,000 to the RMHC of Pittsburgh and Morgantown over the past two seasons.