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Bruins Present $50,000 Check To Travis Roy Foundation

BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins hit the links on Monday for their annual golf tournament. That means the Bruins hitting the ice is just around the corner.

The entire Bruins team, along with management and the coaching staff, was on hand at The International Golf Course in Bolton for the 12th Annual Boston Bruins Foundation Golf Tournament. But taking some hacks on the fairways and knocking in some chips weren't all the Bruins were up to on Monday.

The Boston Bruins Foundation and Boston Bruins Alumni presented tournament honoree Travis Roy with a $50,000 check for The Travis Roy Foundation ahead of their day on the links. It has been 20 years since Roy, a freshman at the time, suffered a devastating spine injury just a 11 seconds into his first shift at Boston University. He has dedicated his life to enhancing the lives of those with spinal cord injuries and their families, establishing The Travis Roy Foundation in 1997 to help spinal cord injury survivors and to fund research into a cure.

"The Bruins have just been incredible," Roy told reporters on Monday. "The hockey family has been pretty special, but the Bruins, over the years, have made significant donations to the Travis Roy Foundation."

Roy says the Bruins "are everywhere" when it comes to raising money and helping his foundation, and they will be the lead sponsor at an event in October for the 20-year anniversary of his injury.

This is nothing new for Roy and Boston's hockey team.

"The Bruins were there Day 1. I remember Ray Bourque, Bobby Orr at my bed side. They did everything they could to support me and get me heading in the right direction, and raise money that played a big impact in my life early on," he said. "Now they're raising money for The Travis Roy Foundation, and they continue to be there. The Jacobs family has been incredible and I'm so grateful."

Roy is happy with what his foundation has been able to accomplish since its creation, but knows there is a lot of work ahead of them.

"For the first 5-7 years, there was a lot of attention around my story and I really didn't think I earned it," said Roy. "To date, the foundation has raised over $6 million. We've funded a number of cutting edge research labs around the country, helped over 1,000 individuals with wheelchairs with voice-activated computers. Now I feel like the attention towards the foundation and my life is a little more warranted.

"We're finally getting there. I live on hope," he added. "Hope gets me up in the morning. But hope needs to be funded, and that's what the Bruins are doing today. That's what these players and these players who are participating, they're funding my hope and all of us with spinal cord injuries, that things will get better."

 

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