Kraken launch foundation focused on youth homelessness

SEATTLE (AP) — Months before their first game, the Seattle Kraken have launched the club’s One Roof Foundation in partnership with Climate Pledge Arena.

The foundation announced Tuesday will have three primary areas of focus: youth homelessness; youth access to hockey; and environmental justice.

“We’re really coming at this from an impact angle, which to me is ever more exciting because you can actually figure out here’s some really big issues in our society, how can we lean in and help address them?” said Mari Horita, vice president for community engagement and social impact for the Kraken, who will also serve as executive director for the foundation.

The youth homelessness focus will build on the team’s partnership with YouthCare to help with funding, visibility and job support. The youth hockey aspect will include partnering with local schools and youth organizations to help make both floor and ice hockey more accessible.

Horita said the environmental justice portion is still being developed but is about “elevating the voices of and investing in those communities that are historically disproportionately impacted.”

The announcement of the foundation coincides with the state beginning to sell specialty Kraken license plates. The foundation says 75% of the revenue generated from the sale of the license plates will go to the foundation and help development in the targeted areas.