Community service is a pillar of the Rush organization. As a one-time winner and three-time finalist of the ECHL’s Community Service Team of the Year Award, the Rush are committed and dedicated to serving our community.

During the 2025-26 season, our players, coaches, and front office proudly completed 837 hours of volunteer work and community appearances. From visits to schools, nursing homes, and hospitals, to teaching the next generation of athletes and record-breaking holiday outreach, our team continues to give back in a variety of ways.

Through volunteering, community events, and donations, the Rush reached over 250 organizations and donated more than $165,000 this past season, with efforts continuing year-round.

Rapid City Rush community events are proudly presented by Loyal Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling.

Record-breaking Teddy Bear Toss

One of our most rewarding moments each year is seeing the community’s generosity turn into smiles, and this past season was our biggest yet. Through our ‘Stuff-The-Truck’ event at Slumberland Furniture, and the Teddy Bear Toss game presented by Black Hills Energy, Rush Nation stepped up to donate close to 8,000 stuffed animals.

The week after the December 13^th game, the entire team headed to the pediatric unit at Monument Health to personally deliver the teddy bears to children battling cancer, putting smiles on their faces during the holiday season. Front office staff conducted several other drop-offs in the Rapid City area.

NHL STREET Hockey Camp

We have been hard at work making hockey accessible to every kid in Rapid City through the NHL STREET program. In June 2025, we officially launched the first-ever NHL STREET Camp in South Dakota, a milestone for youth sports in the state. Our inaugural camp took place at the YMCA in Rapid City in August 2025 and brought in over 40 kids, who got to receive firsthand instruction from Ryan Wagner, Garrett Klotz, and the Rush coaching staff. Everyone went through a series of passing, shooting, and stickhandling drills before breaking out intro relay races and scrimmages. All equipment was provided and no prior hockey experience was required.

After the success of the first camp, we brought NHL STREET to the Liberty Center YMCA in Box Elder in March 2026 and once again hosted over 40 participants. With the YMCA location close to Ellsworth Air Force Base, it was the perfect way to help promote Military Appreciation Night later that week.

First Responders Recognition

First Responders Night is a staple on the Rush’s calendar, honoring those who serve our communities, big and small, and do the unforgiving job of keeping us safe. This year, the Rush recognized our local heroes and highlighted our team’s close connections with first responders.

In the week leading up to the game, two groups of players spent an afternoon delivering cupcakes to fire stations and meeting local firefighters. We also shared the story of two best friends—Chase Pauls and Mitchell Smith—who not only shared a defense pairing, but a bond as the sons of first responders. Pauls’ dad, Jason, a paramedic and Fire Chief in Osler, Saskatchewan, made the weekend trip. Chief Pauls met Rapid City Fire Department Chief Jason Culberson and toured the renovated R.C.F.D. facility. He also presented challenge coins to the team, read the starting lineup, and dropped the puck on First Responders Night.

Badge Buddies

Every Rush game is a chance for our community to connect, and perhaps no better example of that is our Badge Buddies program. We relaunched the program and brought Texas Roadhouse on board as our partner. First introduced in 2019, Badge Buddies allows law enforcement officers the opportunity to treat local kids to a pregame dinner and a VIP experience at a game.

While the officers and lucky participants flew under the radar, the program was in action for a majority of home series with officers from multiple departments volunteering their time. With Badge Buddies renewed for the 2026-27 season, the goal is to make it a staple of the Rush’s community outreach for years to come.

Tip-A-Player

One of our biggest community events every year is Tip-A-Player. We team up with Special Olympics South Dakota for our annual Tip-A-Player event at Firehouse Brewing Company. An athlete with the Rapid City Flame or Rapid City Storm is paired with one of our players for the night as they take orders and deliver food. All tips from the night’s sales were donated directly to Special Olympics South Dakota.

We raised over $2,000 for the teams this February and presented the check during a game later in the season. Since the event’s inception in 2011, Tip-A-Player has raised more than $50,000 for Special Olympics South Dakota.

Easter Egg Hunt

For the first time, the Rush opened up the rink to the community in a way that focused entirely on local families. On April 10^th, we transformed The Monument Ice Arena into a massive playground, hosting an Easter Egg Hunt. Over 2,000 eggs were hidden in the seating bowl and on the concourse for kids to find. It was a huge success with over 100 kids attending, turning our arena into a neighborhood hub for the day.

Black Hills Energy Weatherizing Outreach

This past winter, we used our platform to help our fans tackle rising utility costs. Through our long-lasting partnership with Black Hills Energy, the whole team distributed free weatherization kits to residents in Rapid City’s Horace Mann neighborhood.

The initiative focused on helping community members lower winter energy costs, providing supplies like weather stripping, outlet insulators, LED lightbulbs, and surge protectors. Through this initiative, we placed an emphasis on the fact that we always love to give back to the community in partnership with Black Hills Energy’s Black Hills Cares program, which provides a lifeline for families and individuals struggling to pay their utility bills.

Specialty Jersey Auctions

For seven of our specialty jerseys this season—‘80s Night, Rodeo Night, Black Hills Brawl, Military Appreciation Night, Rush Fights Cancer, and the warmups—the Rush partnered with a local non-profit. After each of those promotional nights, the game-worn jerseys were auctioned off live with a portion of the proceeds going directly to those organizations.

In the 2025-26 season, the Rush donated over $80,000 to local nonprofits, using the excitement around the exclusive, limited-edition jerseys to provide significant, tangible financial support to multiple community partners throughout the year.