Basking Ridge Student Raises $2,600 For Sled Hockey

Basking Ridge, NJ – Inspired by a neighbor with Cerebral Palsy, Ethan Lipset raised more than $2,600 to help others with physical challenges play hockey.

His good deed branched from his upcoming bar mitzah set for May 14. He needed a community service project and as a hockey player himself – this was the perfect fit.

“It felt really good,” Ethan said of his efforts to Patch.

A William Annin Middle School Seventh Grade student, Ethan learned of sled hockey from his neighbor when he used to live in Massachusetts.

His neighbor William, loved the sport and eventually took it up.

Ethan also is familiar with hockey, as he has been playing since he was 8. He has also played for the New Jersey Wolves for the past two seasons. He watched sled hockey on television and experienced his first live sled hockey game in Flemington.

“There is a speed difference in the sports and you need a lot of arm stength to push the sled,” Ethan said of sled hockey versus hockey.

Passing on his passion for the ice to others, Ethan found there were only two other youth sled hockey programs. One was run in West Orange by the New Jersey Devils.

Ethan then began to skate with the NJ Devils Youth Hockey program’s team as one of their volunteer pushers. He saw through the program a need for more equipment.

A sled costs about $600 so with the help of his parents Craig and Shani he created a video and set up a generosity.com web site to raise funds.

Here is the video Ethan and his parents made:

Within a few days, Ethan raised enough money for one sled and in more than a month he raised a total of $1,300.

Since the NJ Devils Youth Hockey program is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, the final donation was able to be matched by Pfizer, where Craig works.

With Pfizer’s matching gift, a total of $2,600 was donated to the sled team to buy new sleds and sticks for the kids.

“It was really nice just to see your kid out there helping, hands on with children with different needs to play a game like this,” Craig said. “But also to add equipment for other kids to enjoy.”

(Photo provided: Lipset Family of Basking Ridge hold up a check that was donated to the NJ Devils Youth Hockey program to purchase sleds and equipment.)