It’s all about the kids!

As New Jersey’s only “true” Big Four professional sports team, the Devils carry a responsibility to the community that is not shared by other franchises. As such, the Devils Youth Foundation is a key piece of the organization’s community efforts. After all, the foundation’s mission is to “champion, advance, and support equitable and inclusive access to life-changing experiences for youth in New Jersey by leveraging the power of sports, entertainment, and music.”

On Saturday, December 13, 2025, the Devils Youth Foundation will have a massive presence at New Jersey’s afternoon game against the Anaheim Ducks at Prudential Center. According to Devils Youth Foundation Executive Director Kate Whitman Annis, “Devils Youth Foundation Day is more than just a game – it’s a celebration of the youth of New Jersey and the amazing local community partners we collaborate with to help impact these children’s lives.”

“One of the things that we really pride ourselves on is being a part of our communities and listening to what people need,” Whitman Annis said during a phone interview on Thursday morning. “I don’t think that it is our place, as a pro sports team, to go out into Newark or the surrounding areas or anywhere in New Jersey and say ‘we think your kids need this.’ That’s not what we’re about. We want to go into communities, we wanna listen, we want to hear what kids need and then we want to try and meet those needs when they fall within our mission.”

One way to accomplish that mission is to bring kids to Devils games, as it introduces them to the game of hockey. But the Devils Youth Foundation doesn’t simply provide tickets to a game. No. They, in coordination with the Devils Hockey Ops and Game Day staff, put together an entire immersive experience. 

“We show them what it’s like to be in sports, to work in sports,” Whitman Annis explained. “We do a lot of business with sports panels where we’re bringing kids in to talk about what it means to work in sports, because everybody wants to be a pro athlete, but the odds of that are not very high. 280 people work in this building, so what does that mean and what could that mean for them? So we’re really trying to listen and hear what people need. 

“An example of that is when the SNAP benefits went away and then came back. We were able to lean in with some funds to support the Mayor’s five food security hubs that he created in Newark. We were really happy to do that and be able to be a part of a solution, because, even with SNAP benefits back, there’s a lot of uncertainty. People are worried about food and nutrition security.”

“That’s always been one of our pillars,” Whitman Annis continued. “It will remain one of our pillars and where we really lean in and spend a lot of time and focus supporting our partners out in the community as they do their work. And that’s anything from Community Food Bank of New Jersey, providing actual food to all of the kitchens and pantries all over Northern New Jersey, to working with a coalition for Food and Health Equity. 

“Dr. Leeja Carter puts community fridges across Jersey City and now into Newark. We’re in three schools now with our fridges and she’s an amazing person. But she has a little bit of a different model where she’s buying prepared foods from local restaurants. So she’s also supporting the restaurant ecosystem locally. So, we try to be a little bit nimble and able to react to what’s going on in our communities.”

As you can see, the foundation has quite a wide reach. It’s not simply hosting kids at a game, as you’re about to read. There’s so much more to everything the Devils Youth Foundation does. And it all starts at the top, with New Jersey’s ownership group. 

“We wouldn’t be able to be successful without the support from our ownership, from Allison and David Blitzer and Josh and Marjorie Harris, all the way down to every single person in the building,” Whitman Annis explained. “Our ushers know what’s happening. All of our ticket sales folks are wearing DYF shirts. Our players are all wearing DYF hats and shirts all the time now. So this day is about celebrating our community and what our DYF is doing, but really, (also) what our non-profit partners are doing. 

“We’re bringing in about 25 organizations. They each bring someone for the day. They come in at nine. We have a meeting, altogether, sort of, to talk about community so that our grant partners can meet each other and understand the things that we’re supporting and make synergies between each other. We also have a speaker coming in to talk to them about communication, to give them some things that they can take away with them for the day. Our board is gonna join them for brunch and then they’re gonna stay and watch the game. And that’s just the start of Foundation Day. 

“We are looking to raise $75,000 on the day to help go towards getting kids active and moving. So yes, it’s hockey, but it doesn’t have to be hockey and it doesn’t have to be organized sports. 

“It’s really just getting kids moving. Some kids don’t wanna be a part of a team and that’s completely okay. We want them active. We want to create an active lifestyle, a healthy, long-term lifestyle and that’s where the food comes in again. There’s so much that we try to pull together to create a healthy lifestyle for our kids. Kids are participating in pretty much every aspect of the game. 

“We have a child photographer who’s gonna be shadowing (our team photographer). An organist. A PA announcer. We have our partnership with RECORD HIGH, which is a music program. We have a national anthem singer. Hockey in New Jersey, which started in Newark and is now in six different cities, is a Newark-based Hockey for free program. They’ll be participating in player walk-ins in the beginning, which is always super fun. 

“One of the really cool things that we have, we’re gonna honor Christopher Javier as Hero of the Game. He’s a certified EMT from Newark. One of our grant partners is something called GreenLight, which we’ve been working with for the past four years. They find a need in the community and then they bring in a successful non-profit from another part of the country that meets that need. And then they stand it up for four years, at least. The goal is that the organization has been able to stand on its own. Christopher is one of the first graduates of that program. It’s called EMS Corps. It is a really incredible program. We’re so excited to have that. 

“Then, we have the Campbell’s Hometown Hockey Hero Award, which is gonna go to our really close partner, the Challenged Athletes Foundation and a woman named Kelly Worrell, who is just wonderful and spends so much time and effort focused on increasing sled hockey. That’s where our grant went with the Challenged Athletes Foundation. So we’re really excited to have that. We’re also gonna be highlighting our donations to the Boys & Girls Club of Newark, which is a long-time partner of ours. They do incredible work.”

With everything the Devils Youth Foundation will be doing, Saturday is guaranteed to be a massive hit. But it won’t be the only one. You see, while this is just the second time The Foundation is having a day at a game, it’s not the only thing on the horizon. On February 2, 2026, the Devils’ annual “Sweep The Deck Gala” will once again take center stage as it aims to raise funds for the Devils Youth Foundation. Last year, the event brought in over $1.7 million. So, it’s safe to assume that February’s event will be looking to do even more.

The “Sweep The Deck Gala” is a unique experience in that it allows the players, executives, alumni and team staff to interact with their community on a personal level, rather than just having the fans watch them play a game of hockey. 

“This is another testament to our players and our organization as a whole,” Whitman Annis said. “From Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment on down to the Devils in Prudential Center, our President, Jake Reynolds, is always leaning in. Our Hockey Ops team, (Tom) Fitzgerald, Kate Madigan and Pete (Albietz), they’re always leaning in. This event is completely unique. I don’t think there’s another one like it. It is a time when fans get to interact with players as people and they can curl with them. They can play cards with them, or just talk with them.”

“Prudential Center is a community space and it’s a community space for people in Newark and for people all across New Jersey. We want people to come into this facility and feel welcomed and feel like they’re a part of this community.”

In the past, that wasn’t always how the Devils operated. But under David Blitzer and Josh Harris, they have given the entire organization the freedom to go out into the community and bring people together. And that is exactly what the Devils Youth Foundation is doing.