From the downtown streets to centre ice

With the Jets playoff-bound, one Winnipegger is hoping to make a difference in the life of someone less fortunate.

It's all about paying it forward for Winnipegger Ryan DeLong, especially when it comes to his favourite hockey team, the Winnipeg Jets. So when an old friend asked him what his next charitable endeavour was, the answer came easily.

"As of last year, during the Jets playoff run, I really wanted to take a homeless person to a Jets playoff game," DeLong recounted.

That dream quickly became a reality when the friend, who happened to have season tickets to the Jets, offered him a pair for this upcoming playoff season.

"Just to give someone that is going through a rough time a chance to experience the whiteout, it's incredible," says DeLong, who is excited to be able to share such a night with someone who may have never experienced something like this before.

"The Street Parties are one thing, but being inside the building is the next level."

Beyond the game itself, DeLong hopes to provide a heightened experience for the attendee, providing a haircut, new clothing, and whatever other services local businesses or individuals might be willing to contribute in order to make the night memorable.

"I don't even think I'm going to be watching the game," said DeLong, "I think I'm just going to be watching the person's face.

DeLong has partnered with local non-profit Main Street Project to aid in selecting the individual who will be treated to the game-night experience.

Paying it forward

It's a bit of a full-circle opportunity for DeLong, who began and now co-manages the online page Pay It Forward Winnipeg because of another life-changing Jets game experience.

Two years ago, DeLong had a pair of tickets to a Jets game but no one to go with, so he thought to put up an online ad requesting people send in nominations as to why they should be considered for the extra ticket. Of the hundred-or-so messages he received, one in particular stood out to DeLong.

"One person actually nominated their friend who is a breast cancer survivor, and my mother passed away from breast cancer a long time ago, so that story hit home."

DeLong decided to bring her, something he says turned into a great experience. Feeling that the world needed something more in the way of these sorts of stories, DeLong began the Pay It Forward Winnipeg page as a way of promoting positive, local news.

"I wanted to create a Facebook page that had just positive news because you always hear the negative in the world and I'm just sick of it," said DeLong.

The page is co-managed by Leslie MacKay, the individual that accompanied DeLong to the Jets game that evening, as well as Jaimie O’Dell, MacKay's friend and nominator.

Sharing the love

DeLong, 32, says he has been a Jets fan for as long as he can remember.

"I'm a lifelong Winnipegger... they left when I was eight and that was heartbreaking for me. I recall listening to the last game on the radio and crying my eyes out."

Needless to say, the return of the Jets to Winnipeg was a day DeLong will never forget. The only thing better? A chance to share his love of the game with someone else.

"I feel like Winnipeg as a whole is a community... and to me, the backbone of the community is our team, the Jets, and to be a part of something like this is fantastic. I'm really excited to take someone like this who would never typically have the means to go to a game and to experience it."

DeLong is most excited to see the face of whoever he gets to take as they take in the experience.

"I don't even think I'm going to be watching the game," said DeLong, "I think I'm just going to be watching the person's face.