In cities like Columbus, where hockey is the only major professional game in town, businesses throughout downtown have been hit hard by the absence of the Blue Jackets. Hotel rooms are vacant. Bars and restaurants that were crowded at this time last year are now half-full. The city itself has lost out on enormous amounts of money in tax revenue.

That these businesses have suffered during the lockout is fairly obvious to anyone walking through the Arena District. However, another group of businesses has been negatively affected, one that is not as readily apparent to the public: local non-profits.

Volunteers from nonprofit groups run every single concession stand at Nationwide Arena. These volunteers help raise thousands of dollars every season for the charities they represent. These dollars are absolutely vital to the missions of those organizations.

I am the executive director of Road of Life: Cancer Prevention for Kids, a nonprofit group that supports educational initiatives to improve the fitness, nutrition and smoking-prevention habits of Columbus-area children.

Road of Life is a small organization and we pride ourselves on getting the most out of every dollar that comes through our door.

During the 2002-2003 and 2003-2004 NHL seasons, Road of Life volunteers raised more than $23,000 through their hard work at Blue Jackets' games. This money accounted for nearly one-quarter of our annual operating budget.

With the 2004-2005 season now irretrievably lost, Road of Life is faced with the daunting task of filling a sizable hole in its budget. Our activities and programming are being threatened as a result.

The differences between the NHL and the NHLPA have hurt fans, cities and businesses throughout the United States and Canada.

We ask that the two sides come together to ensure that a hockey season is not the only thing lost in this labor dispute.

We challenge the NHL, the NHLPA, the teams and the players to make up for some of the harm done by the lockout and contribute $15,000 to Road of Life, money that will keep the organization running and keep its cancer-prevention programs available to the children who need it.

An online petition asking the two sides to come together to help Road of Life has been started and is now accessible at www.roadoflife.org.

Matthew Youngner

Columbus

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