Dallas Stars to host annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night on Friday, Dec. 5

FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Stars announced today that they will hold their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night on Friday, Dec. 5 when the team takes on the San Jose Sharks at American Airlines Center.

Hockey Fights Cancer, a joint initiative of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), aims to fundraise for cancer research, create meaningful touchpoints all year long with our communities through tentpole events and storytelling and educate and empower more fans to learn about cancer risk factors, as well as take action to get screened for certain cancers as appropriate. AstraZeneca is an official partner of Hockey Fights Cancer.

The Dallas Stars are proud to collaborate with Baylor Scott & White Health locally to encourage people to get their regular cancer screenings, because the earlier you find cancer, the more power you have to fight it.

There will be several activations in support of Hockey Fights Cancer Night during the game and around the American Airlines Center. In support of the league-wide initiative, all members of the Dallas Stars coaching staff will wear Hockey Fights Cancer pins on the bench during the game. Fans will also be given the opportunity to create "I'm Fighting For" cards at the fan center outside section 113, an acknowledgement that we are all connected to this disease, and we fight together. Fans are encouraged to write-in the person on the card who is significant to them and share on social media using the hashtag #StarsFightCancer. Fans can also visit AstraZeneca's activation on PNC Plaza to learn about how AstraZeneca is empowering fans to take control of their health by talking to their doctors about cancer risk factors and cancer screenings that may be right for them.

Additionally, via the Dallas Stars Foundation, there will be several opportunities for fans to acquire limited edition merchandise created for Hockey Fights Cancer Night. Fans can bid on autographed lavender Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys at DallasStars.com/JerseyAuction and can purchase autographed Hockey Fights Cancer-themed mystery pucks at the fan center outside section 113 at American Airlines Center. Proceeds collected from the jersey auction and mystery puck sales, as well as the Dallas Stars Foundation 50/50 Raffle presented by Higginbotham Insurance, will benefit Camp Esperanza (The Bridewell Foundation).

The Dallas Stars worked closely with local cancer survivor Gracen Moreno to create a specially designed t-shirt in honor of Hockey Fights Cancer. Gracen's design features the words "Finish the Fight," a phrase that Gracen recited to herself during treatment and is a testament to a cancer patient's mentality. Gracen is a Dallas-based civil trial lawyer. At age 29, she was diagnosed with Alk-Negative Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer. After several rounds of intensive chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant at the Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Center, Gracen is now in remission and cancer-free. Gracen and her husband, Brian, were married one week after Gracen's diagnosis and are both longtime Stars fans.

Created in collaboration with the Dallas Stars, t-shirts featuring Gracen's design will be available to fans for pick up outside Section 109 courtesy of Baylor Scott & White Health. Additional shirts will be available for purchase on Hangarhockey.com and at the Stars Hangars located on PNC Plaza and outside section 102 and section 110 inside American Airlines Center. All proceeds will benefit Camp Esperanza (The Bridewell Foundation).

The Bridewell Foundation believes every child deserves the chance to discover the joys of childhood, even in the face of cancer. That’s why their mission is to raise the funds needed to make Camp Esperanza possible, a medically supervised summer camp for children treated for cancer at Children’s Health in Dallas and Plano. Since 1984, Camp Esperanza has welcomed over 5,000 children, offering them a week filled with laughter, adventure, and friendship, all at no cost to their families. For many families, a cancer diagnosis changes everything. Childhood becomes a series of hospital visits and exhausting treatments. At Camp Esperanza, we help children reclaim the magic of childhood, if only for a week, by surrounding them with understanding friends, a caring medical team, and experiences that remind them what it means to be a kid again. At camp, kids ride horses, swim, create art, and build lifelong bonds with others who truly understand their journey. Surrounded by compassionate peers and volunteers, they leave behind insecurities and loneliness and return home filled with confidence and hope.

“Camp doesn’t cure cancer, but it heals something medicine can’t. It gives children joy, hope, confidence, and community," said Kenda Al-Assi, Former Camper and Counselor and current board member. "It gives them back their childhood and its effects last a lifetime.”

The Bridewell Foundation will continue its mission until every child’s story is one of healing and happiness. Every donation to Camp Esperanza helps continue this life-changing work, one summer, one smile, one friendship at a time. Until there is a cure, there’s Camp Esperanza!