Cody's Big Night At Pepsi Center

Last Thursday night, April 5th, Cody Beekman came to the Avalanche game at Pepsi Center, along with around 350 of his good friends, to be honored and receive a check from Dawg Nation to help cover his massive expenses. Last October, Cody was seriously injured when the car he was riding in was struck by a drunk driver, paralyzing him from the chest down.

After almost four months at Craig Hospital, Cody is now home and making terrific progress in his journey to recovery. With the aid of some of the handier members of Dawg Nation, he now has a house that's wheelchair accessible, including two ramps, larger doors, a new bathroom, and a hardwood floor. But he really needs a van with a wheelchair lift, and that's where several fundraisers, including the Avalanche game, came in.

Because of generous contributions to the Dawg Nation website, a benefit skate at the Ice Centre in Westminster, a grant from the Dawg Nation Hockey Foundation, and a portion of all tickets sold to the game at Pepsi Center, before the contest, we were able to proudly present Cody with a check for $13,300. That is the most money we've been able to give to one recipient so far, and it should be enough to purchase the vehicle that he needs.


Click to enlarge all pictures

After the game, the Pepsi Center ice was made available to Dawg Nation, and Cody was even able to get out and cruise the same surface as his heroes from the Avalanche, including his favorite player, Milan Hejduk.





Cody, along with all the Beekmans, are now part of the Dawg Nation family, and we'll continue to do whatever we can to help as he gets better and better. In the meantime, Dawg Nation will now move on to other fundraisers, including a night at the Comedy Works on April 25th, and our signature hockey tournament, Dawg Bowl II, on June 1st-3rd. All details are available at http://www.dawgnationhockey.org/.


Some highlights of the evening:


Some of Cody's teammates from his men's league squad The Scouts, along with Dawg Nation board member Dan Cashman


Cody's mom Debbie, along with board member Rob "Superfan" Packard


Cody, Debbie, and Dawg Nation president Marty Richardson


Dawg Nation hits the big time, with our logo up on the big scoreboard at Pepsi Center



Cody, Marty, his daughter Alexi, and Bernie, the Avs mascot


Board members Eddie Cribbs, Dan Cashman, and Andy Gerrie


Marty Richardson and Avalanche liaison Jake Godber



The Scouts on the players bench


Cody and his teammates

For more pictures, please link to the following:

https://picasaweb.google.com/105053956534403946860/CodyNightAtTheAVS?locked=true#