Flyers Alumni to donate $2 million for new rink for Snider Foundation

The Flyers Alumni is honoring the organization's 50th anniversary with a special gift for Flyers owner, founder and chairman Ed Snider.

The Alumni Association will donate $2 million for the construction of a new rink for the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. The rink will be named in Snider's honor and also feature the name of the the Alumni organization.

A portion of the $2 million comes from fundraisers and Alumni events. The effort began last Friday when the Alumni Association held an Alumni game in Reading, generating $80,000 of charity funds, $45,000 of which went to Flyers Charities.

"The Flyers Alumni would like to show our appreciation to Mr. Snider, who has made such a vast impact on our careers and lives, by making this pledge," Brad Marsh, president of the Flyers Alumni Association, said in a statement on the Flyers website. "We know that Snider Hockey is going to be his legacy, and we want to be a part of that, so that we can provide a future for the boys and girls of the Greater Philadelphia Region and carry out Mr. Snider’s mission. It is one way for us to simply say 'thank you.'"

Snider is the founder of the Foundation, formed in 2005, and designed to give inner-city children the opportunity to learn the game of hockey while getting resources necessary for improving education. 

The Snider Foundation will be presented with a symbolic check prior to Thursday night's game between the Flyers and Sabres.

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.