Yes, it's depressing that the Capitals made an early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year. And yes, it's hard to watch the Stanley Cup Final without our favorite team. But the Cup is ours until June, and NoVa Caps has a way to turn a bad situation into some good: the Nova Caps Charity Challenge. Our challenge is simple: take the money you would have spent at a watch party or on a playoff ticket and contribute to a good cause. Our charity: Best Buddies Capital Region, a charity that the Capitals have long supported.  Best Buddies is a non-profit that promotes social inclusion, job opportunities, leadership development, and inclusive living for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Best Buddies Virginia &amp; DC serves 3,600 students at 14 middle schools, 37 high schools, and 12 colleges. Best Buddies Jobs is a supported-employment program which helps adults with IDD gain employment to be more self-sufficient. The organization evaluates each person's interests and strengths to help them find the best match in the workplace. Best Buddies also has a job program which helps those with IDD gain employment to be more self-sufficient. The organization evaluates each person's interests and strengths to help them find the best match in the workplace. Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is a long-time supporter of Best Buddies. Leonsis has been a supporter and advocate of Best Buddies since 1998. As vice-chairman of AOL, he launched and initially publically funded "e-Buddies," an e-mail pen-pal program, and he was part of the first e-Buddies pair with his buddy of more than 20 years, Ken Holden. The two are great friends to this very day and have exchanged over 10,000 emails over the years. To see how long Leonsis has helped out the organization, see how he looked when his relationship with Best Buddies started. <iframe media_type="0" media_id="YH3IpnTC1Q0" class="youtube-replace" title="YouTube video player" style="margin-bottom:20px;width:560px;height:315px;" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YH3IpnTC1Q0/?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1"></iframe> Former Capitals Head Coach Barry Trotz has also been a huge supporter of the organization, both in Washington and in Nashville when he was the head coach of the Nashville Predators. His wife, Kim, held a Best Buddies skating party at MedStar Capitals Iceplex when Trotz was in Washington. He inspired people in the program, talking about raising his son, Nolan, who has a disability. <img src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/39404476_1558538249370713_r.jpeg" width="100%" media_type="3" alt="39404476_1558538249370713_r.jpeg" />Photo: WashingtonCapitals.com In an interview with the Capitals' website, Trotz said "Best Buddies has had a tremendous impact on Nolan's life, as well as countless other participants, from peers to buddies and beyond. Their programming positively influences many lives, and the awareness and funding the walk brings to the organization is instrumental to their continued success." NoVa Caps wants you to rise to the challenge and help this great organization. Let's do this Caps fans! ======= More information about Best Buddies International: Best Buddies International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Note: all proceeds raised through this program will be sent by GoFundMe directly to Best Buddies and cannot be used for any other purpose.

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NoVa Caps Charity Challenge for Best Buddies

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NoVa Caps Charity Challenge for Best Buddies

Still $6,865 to go. Help us build momentum.