The Aubri Brown Club (ABC) was founded by former professional hockey player, Curtis Brown, after losing his daughter to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in 2005. The club’s mission is to raise money to help families who have lost a child and support them on the road to recovery. One of the fundraising components of the ABC is called “Pass the Stick”, started by a Navy Seal who came up with an idea to combine the bottom half of a hockey stick used by San Jose Sharks star Brent Burns and graft it to the top half of a Navy Seal Paddle. The idea is sort of a “pass-it-forward” concept where different people get the stick for a few days and then pass it on to someone else. Recipients of the stick are required to do the following:
- Take a picture of yourself with the Stick and post it tagging #ABCPassTheStick.
- Sign the book that accompanies the Stick recording your turn as the temporary owner.
- Make a minimum donation of $100 to help families via the “Pass the Stick”
- Find a friend, family member, or neighbor to pass the stick to within 3 days. Share with them your experience or what you know about the Aubri Brown Club.
Both hockey and the military have a special meaning in my life. I grew up in Alaska and actually ice skated to school. I watched my brothers and my boyfriend, Mario Lucchesi, play hockey for years. You might say hockey has always been in the family. Plus, my brothers are Special Ops Combat Controllers for the United States Air Force, so those two factors made Pass the Stick really hit home for me. Mario and I figured we should do as much as we could to raise awareness. And so we got the stick!
I am a Pilates and Dance Conditioning Instructor, as well as a Professional Ballroom and Latin Dance Instructor and Competitor (2nd-4th U.S., 5th In the World). So as a dancer, I took a few pics of the stick on the dance floor. But I also wanted to pay tribute to the exercise that gave me the strength and flexibility that helped get me where I am today. Pilates.
Being comprehensively certified since 2006, Pilates has been a major factor in my life. It is my passion and it gives me the strength to do what I need to do. That is where Balanced Body comes in. Mario and I have been working with Jayson O’Donahue at Balanced Body on getting equipment for our studio. We gave him a call to see if we could incorporate Pilates in to Pass the Stick. Balanced Body loved the idea and Jayson, Dan Wilson and Scott Kartagener jumped on the idea to help.
I drove up from San Jose, CA to Sacramento, and let me tell you, if you haven’t been to this amazing facility, you are missing out! It was a great opportunity to share this experience with Balanced Body and reach so many people. I was thrilled!
When you walk into the lobby of Balanced Body, you will find an original Reformer made by Joseph Pilates himself. It resembles a teal color, the San Jose Sharks team color, so if Joseph Pilates were around today, I’m sure he’d be a Sharks fan! Brent Burns is 6’5”, so you can imagine how tall, especially with the paddle added to the end, the stick is compared to my 4’11 stature. Take a look at the picture!
After our time with the stick was over it was passed on to another hockey player at Sharks Ice to continue to keep it in the hockey family. You can follow where it goes on instagram under #abcpassthestick or www.theaubribrownclub.org
Who knows, maybe it will be passed to you next….
To learn more or donate, visit www.aubribrownclub.org
