Left to right: Stephane Friday, Nathaniel Mata, Zarmina Nekzai, Alexandria Briggs-Blake, Moezine Hasham, Kirk Brooks, Brock McGillis.
“To follow in the footsteps of Herb Carnegie and to receive an award with his family name on it is truly humbling. I dedicate this award to my entire immediate and extended family who arrived in Canada 50 years ago as refugees, to my wife Monika Amlani and Paul Hillman who were 2 of the first people who supported my journey to build this charity and to all of the newcomer youth and sidelined teens who continue to skate, fall and get back up.
Thank you to Bernice Carnegie & Bryant McBride and members of The Carnegie Initiative for selecting me as 1 of the first 7 Herb Carnegie Trailblazer Award recipients.I am incredibly humbled and proud to be accepting this award named after and pioneer Herb Carnegie, alongside Alexandria Briggs-Blake, Kirk Brooks, Brock McGillis, Nathaniel Mata, Stephane Friday and Zarmina Nekzai.
Please check out all of our stories and how we are making hockey more inclusive and accessible at https://carnegieinitiative.com/hcta/” - Moezine Hasham, Founder & Executive Director, Hockey 4 Youth
Moe is the youngest of four siblings, born in New Westminster, B.C., and grew up in Vancouver. His parents, Ismaili Muslim immigrants from Uganda, moved to a cooperative housing complex in in 1972. That year, all people of South Asian descent were expelled from Uganda by President Idi Amin. Hasham was attracted to street hockey and spent much of his time playing with the other neighborhood kids.
Hasham’s dream was to work with youth in hockey. He had met Willie O’Ree years earlier and never forgot the inspiration he’d felt observing firsthand the extensive advocacy work of the NHL’s first Black player. Hasham wanted to do something meaningful — he wanted to start his own organization and work with teenagers who were newcomers or from high-priority neighborhoods. His father offered straightforward advice: ‘Go and chase your dream.’
Hockey 4 Youth formed in 2015 and has since worked with over 500 teenagers from more than 34 countries of origin. It began running programs in Toronto, and has since expanded to Montreal and Ottawa, working with a total of nine high schools. By October, programming in Hamilton will be included, raising that number to 11.
ABOUT THE HERB CARNEGIE TRAILBLAZER AWARD
The Carnegie Initiative, in partnership with Canadian Tire Corporation, is excited to announce the launch of the Herbert Carnegie Trailblazer Award (HCTA) program. HCTA aims to honor the unsung heroes of the hockey world, recognizing those who use the sport as a vehicle to create positive social change, embodying the CI’s mission of ensuring that hockey is inclusive, supportive, and welcoming to all.
A Herbert Carnegie Trailblazer Award recipient is an unsung hero in the hockey community who, through their work and leadership in the sport, are paving the way for others, using the sport as a vehicle to create positive change. The HCTAs will be presented to each trailblazer at the historic Hockey Hall of Fame during the 2nd annual CI Summit in Toronto, January 2023.