Do you remember your first visit to the Crystal Ice House? Was it to sign up your child for Snow Plow Sam or a Parent/Tot Class? Or to "Try Hockey for Free"? Or perhaps it was for a public skate session, an early morning adult skate, or a birthday party? Whatever the reason, we are so glad you laced up and joined our family.

Many patrons never realize the Crystal Ice House is a nonprofit facility. While most rinks in our area are run by large corporations or park districts, the Crystal Ice House is owned by Fire Wagon Hockey, Inc., an Illinois nonprofit committed to providing affordable access to ice sports. Fire Wagon purchased the Crystal Ice House from its original owner in 2011 with two important goals in mind:

• keeping McHenry County’s only indoor ice arena open
• providing a family-oriented outlet for young people to acquire values of self-esteem, self-discipline, and social skills through the great game of ice hockey.

Today the Crystal Ice House serves as a beacon of healthy sport in our community. We are home to Yellowjackets Hockey Club, Stingers Hockey Club, five area high school teams, and Wagon Wheel Figure Skating Club. We even dabble in curling when Olympic fever takes hold! We have a robust Learn to Skate program and partnerships with Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association and District 47 middle schools. We also serve a vibrant adult skating community in figure skating, hockey, and adult league. Through the Crystal Ice House, Fire Wagon fosters a passion for life on the ice.

After 12 years of daily operation, the Crystal Ice House has begun to need improvements. Most recently, our aging ice resurfacing machines have failed, sometimes mid-ice cut, presenting an imminent need. Without ice resurfacers, Fire Wagon’s ability to provide quality ice suffers. Additionally, raising prices to cover the approximate $500,000 cost of three new eco-friendly machines conflicts with our commitment to affordability. That is why today we are calling upon our entire ice family to do something we have never formally done in our history as a nonprofit: support Fire Wagon with a donation to help us #cleantheice.

We hope you will join us as we kick off Fire Wagon’s Ice Resurfacer Fund Benefiting the Crystal Ice House, a three-year grassroots fundraising drive dedicated to replacing our ice-making fleet. Please consider a meaningful gift to Phase 1 of 3 of this inaugural effort to help us keep the ice clean, clear, and ready for sport for the next generation.

Thank you in advance for your kind consideration.

To give securely online, click on the button below to be taken to our donation page. To give the old-fashioned way, send a check payable to:

Fire Wagon Hockey, Inc.

c/o Crystal Ice House

320 East Prairie Street

Crystal Lake, IL 60014

**Please write "Ice Resurfacer Fund" in the check note**