Canes fans raise over $9,000 for 12-year-old ‘good luck ambassador’ and other kids

As the Carolina Hurricanes face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their playoff series this week, they may have the luck of a young super fan on their side.

Emma Izzo, a 12-year-old girl with Down syndrome, has been dubbed the team’s “good luck ambassador” by other fans.

Before Sunday’s game, the Canes had yet to lose a game that she has attended, and in the past week, fans have raised nearly $10,000 for season tickets for her and her family.

Crystal Speeks-Strohecker, the organizer of the fundraiser, said the response has been so overwhelming that they’re now hoping to help other children with disabilities attend future games.

“I’m not an emotional person. I don’t normally cry,” she said. “But I’ve probably cried at least six times in the past three days, because people really seem to be showing the right side of humanity, that sometimes we forget exists.”

‘We take care of our own.’

Speeks-Strohecker said she had never spoken to the Izzo family before starting the fundraiser, but saw a post in a Facebook fan group about Emma being the team’s “good luck charm.” In the comments, someone had suggested the Canes give them season tickets.

“I jokingly said, ‘Man, screw that. We’re all family at this point. We’ll do it ourselves,’” she said. “We take care of our own.”

As of Saturday, just three days after she posted about it on Twitter, Speeks-Strohecker said nearly 200 people had donated to the cause, raising more than $9,600.

“To me, it shouldn’t even be a question of how can this organization jump in and help,” she said. “If they can, that’s awesome, but that’s not their responsibility. To me, that’s your family and that’s your friends’ responsibility.”

At a press conference on Friday, Canes General Manager Don Waddell said the response from fans has been “remarkable.”

“Nothing surprises me with these Caniacs,” he said. “The way that our fans have stepped up for different causes, and in particular this one, is remarkable.”

A friend in the rink

“I was speechless in the beginning,” said Tina Izzo, Emma’s mother. “And what is developing keeps leaving me speechless.”

Izzo, a Raleigh native, said she and her husband have been fans of the Canes since the franchise first came to North Carolina in 1997. They have since moved to New Bern, but still head out to games when they are able to.

For Emma, her love of the Canes began with an interaction she shared with forward Jordan Martinook, who waved to her through the glass at her first game in 2019.

“It was so genuine and sincere,” Izzo said. “Emma can pick up on stuff like that, and from that moment on she called him her ‘buddy.’”

Since then, Izzo said Emma has learned more about the other players, and become an even bigger fan of the team.

“She just loves the team,” Izzo said. “It is the only type of sport whatsoever she is interested in watching.”

In April, the family made it to their first game since the COVID-19 pandemic began, she said. When Martinook spotted Emma in the crowd, he gifted her his hockey stick.

“To her, it becomes more of, ‘Oh, this isn’t just, we go sit and watch somebody play. This is a person, this is a team, that likes me being here,’” she said. “For her to feel like she’s being noticed, it just puts it on a personal level for her.”

‘Beyond just getting to a hockey game.’

The initial goal was $6,300 — enough to get Emma and her family season tickets for next season. But now, Speeks-Strohecker and Izzo hope that the money will help other families of children with disabilities get to the arena.

Izzo said that when Emma and the family can’t make it out to a game, they’ll try to give their tickets to another family.

“Especially, a lot of families with special needs children, it’s something that’s out of reach financially,” she said. “If I can make another child that may have challenges just smile and have a good night, that’s going to be the best thing to come out of all of this.”

Speeks-Strohecker said that though the first goal has been reached, they are still taking further donations. The goal now, she said, is to bring one family with a child with a disability to every home game in the fall season.

“I feel like we could pull this off,” she said. “And assuming we do, I don’t see any reason why it should stop. This can be something that we do forever. The need is always there, so why stop now?”

Izzo said Emma is extremely grateful for the support that fans have shown to her and her family, and that she will be releasing her own thank-you message in the near future.

And for now, she’ll be attending every home game as the Canes continue their playoffs run.

“It’s moved beyond just getting to a hockey game — the fact that people see Emma as a special child, and have accepted her like they have, is something that is priceless,” Izzo said. “It’s really touched our hearts more than we could ever say.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2021 at 6:00 AM.