The Hockey News

For anyone who believes in karma, Team USA's women just gained a leg up on their competition a couple weeks before the Sochi Games begin. That comes courtesy of decorated forward Julie Chu, a Harvard grad, Patty Kazmaier Award winner as college hockey's top female player and three-time Olympic medallist.

Working with Easton, her sponsor, Chu donated $5,000 of equipment to the Boston Bruins Foundation. The foundation, which provides grants to charitable organizations that focus on athletics, academics, health and community outreach, sent the equipment to Defending the Blue Line.

Defending the Blue Line's mission is to give children of military members a chance to play hockey. The organization helps military kids by giving them equipment and assistance with registration fees and also by enrolling them in hockey camps and other events.

“A lot of people helped me in my career and now since I have the ability to give back, I love that my partner Easton Hockey has given me the chance to help my community," Chu said in an agency press release. "One of my teammates, Gigi Marvin, has been a board member of Defending The Blue Line and told me about the work that they do and the Bruins work with them already, so it was perfect.”

Matt Larkin is an associate editor at The Hockey News and a regular contributor to the thn.com Post-To-Post blog. For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, subscribe to The Hockey News magazine. Follow Matt Larkin on Twitter at @THNMattLarkin