Tragedy has inspired hope, as the Gaudreau Family has been busy working for the betterment of others through charity. The event, which was titled the "Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run", saw NHL superstars and former teammates of Johnny Gaudreau show up to contribute.
Thanks to Johnny's former teammates, some of whom now play for the Florida Panthers and other NHL teams, the Gaudreau Family's efforts were successful.
The event featured an entire NHL team in attendance (the Panthers), while people from Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau's lives were contributing to a good cause this week.
The Gaudreau Family: Community Caretakers
As a result, the Gaudreau Family reported they raised enough cash ($500K) to begin construction on an accessible playground at the special needs school where Johnny's mother, Jane Gaudreau, works. The school is called the Archbishop Diamono School, and both Jane and Kristen work there.
The original goal was set by Johnny and Matthew in 2023 as a way of honoring their Grandmother Marie, who was employed at the school for 44 years, and would pass away.
The school originally began raising money for the playground in 2020, but in order to get to the finish line, the NHL community has lent its hand and done an amazing job.
«We heard so much from everyone how much they appreciated everything (the brothers) did for the community, and so they turned around and helped us out,» Gaudreau said. «We heard a lot of nice stories, a lot of people were just so generous, just wanting to be there for our family and whatever they could do to keep John and Matty's legacy alive, which is what we wanted from the playground and to go forward from here.»
The Gaudreau family is amazing with how much they're giving back to the community in light of their losses.
The Gaudreau family has scheduled the next 5K/Walk for the grand opening of the playground on May 16th, 2026.
