



Many professional athletes work with charities and community outreach programs that are near and dear to their hearts.

Gabriel Landeskog’s organization of choice is Friends, a program dedicated to helping schools and sports clubs combat bullying and discrimination. The Colorado Avalanche captain not only works with the organization, he’s been their Global Ambassador since 2014.

As he explains in the video above, Landeskog is passionate about the anti-bullying initiatives that he supports. But the 26-year-old may have met his match in a young girl named Maddie, a fellow advocate of anti-bullying efforts who recently sent Landeskog a heartwarming letter in order to thank him for his great work.





For Landeskog, who received Maddie’s letter and was apparently moved by the young girl’s passion, a simple “thank you” just wouldn’t suffice. In partnership with the Avalanche, Landeskog went out of his way to treat Maddie to a game, inviting her to join the Avs for their road game in Minnesota earlier this week.

The young girl got a puck from Avs defenseman Tyson Barrie and a signed stick from Landeskog, wrapping up an experience of a lifetime with a smile from ear to ear.

< in touch with him soon, and Maddie, as you’d expect, is on cloud 9! Thank you again for all your support! pic.twitter.com/uMtazULjIc — Books Against Bullying (@BooksAgainst) March 20, 2019





It’s moments like this that remind us what sports are really all about.

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