Breakthru Tourney - Star Nosed Moles & Blackhawks Foundation

You can make a difference by donating to Chicago Blackhawks Foundation today!

As the official 501(c)(3) charity of the Chicago Blackhawks, the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation is proud to bring hope to the communities that make our city so special. Our commitment is to provide access to the programming and funding necessary for organizations to make a positive impact. Our goal is to grow the game we love while giving the people we serve a chance for something greater. Our vision is a healthier, smarter, more secure world for families in and around Chicago.

Our Three Pillars are:

• Ensure the West Side of Chicago is a thriving community

• Support Native American Communities

• Grow the sport of Hockey

For more information on the Chicago Blackhawks Foundation, please visit https://www.nhl.com/blackhawks/community

The Chicago Blackhawks Foundation is investing in long-term, local partnerships, where organizations are led by leaders from these communities and with direct lived experiences that shape their visions for the future.

We have launched Support West to create direct partnership with minority-owned small businesses. From creating jobs to creating safe spaces, investing in local businesses is vital to the future of our communities providing the economic backbone of every neighborhood. And what makes the Support West program so unique is that it’s not just about the financial investment. We help each business build their network and connect owners with a curated group of Business Advisors from our network to help grow their businesses.

With the generous support of Breakthru, our 2025 cohort will include:

• Anticonquista Cafe (with entrepreneur Elmer Fajaro Pacheco) based in West Town and Pilsen

• Firehouse Catering Company (with entrepreneur Tawon McGee) based in North Lawndale

• Tasa Coffee Roasters (with entrepreneurs Jackie and Pierre Marquez) based in Humboldt Park

• The Bumbu Roux (with entrepreneur Chris Reed) based in Garfield Park

• Thimi's Empanadas (with entrepreneur Jorge Ferreyra) based in Near West Side

Due to the Support of the Breakthru Tournament:

We have been able to integrate a number of professional development elements to the overall experience. Last year, we introduced the concept of an advisory group that supports the business owners as a cohort, offering guidance and support needed generally by each business including high level support in consumer marketing, scaling products and whole-sale distribution. These advisors also offered one on one support through financial resourcing and banking, debt reduction, and best practices in operational practices such as payroll, hiring staff, and logistics in location.

We are able to build on best practices from previous years to offer additional support to our business owners in partnership with The Hatchery. We’ll be working with their small business coaches to provide one on one coaching sessions to each of the owners to build an investors pitch about each of their businesses where at the end of the cohort experience, each of the businesses will have the opportunity to pitch their future strategy to a panel of judges for an additional financial investment.

Impact by the Numbers:

• We’ve invested over $200,000 directly into small business either through the grants directly or in hiring our Support West small businesses as vendors for internal celebrations or for our large-scale events such as Back-to-School, our heritage celebrations in arena and in the office, and through events held at Fifth Third Arena such as Fiesta de Hockey.

• As part of our engagement, we’ve supported over 100 West Side residents through this program, either through direct ownership or through the hiring of individuals who are local on the West Side, supporting our goal of increasing economic development and generational wealth for families.

• We’ve built a network of peer learning and cross-collaboration, where small businesses work together to support each other through shared experiences or through directly working with each other.