Canes' Svechnikov makes big donation to Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County has been shut down since the middle of March because of the COVID-19 pandemic but Wednesday, thanks to a generous donation of hand sanitizer and masks from Carolina Hurricanes star forward Andrei Svechnikov, the club hopes to be open by the first week of July.

Svechnikov is keeping busy and staying active while he waits for the OK from the NHL to start skating again.

"My brother came here for a couple months," he said. "We try to work out at our place. We have a Peloton bike, try to compete and that's pretty much it. We try to go to the beach a few times, catch some mahi-mahi, it's exciting."

Svechnikov donated 2,500 disposable masks and 25 containers of 5.25-gallon hand sanitizers to the Boys and Girls programs of Wake County.

"The challenge moving forward is going to be to make sure we have these safety materials and so forth here for the kids once we get reopened," said Ralph Capps, the President of Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County. "That was a Godsend for him to do that; it's fantastic."

Svechnikov who grew up poor in Russia said he knows the importance of organizations like the Boys and Girls Club.

"When I was growing as a kid it was a pretty tough time, and I just want to help to the people especially during this time," Svechnikov said. "think for the team and everyone we find the boys and girls club. I'm so happy to help them."

"It means a lot," Capps said. "These are guys that are role models in the community and for them to take that interest enough in your program and for them to come and to see the program first-hand or in this case see the facility first hand it really means a lot."