BALTIMORE, Md. — Noel Acton has one singular purpose every day: to help the most neglected youth of Baltimore City.
"What we’re trying to do is get them out of that cycle of inner-city poverty and hopelessness and get them independent and self supporting," he said.
The 78-year-old from Parkville is the executive director of the Tender Bridge Foundation, which is a non-profit that helps get kids off the streets. He’s been running the organization for the last twenty years.
"You have to love these guys. They are really like my kids."
Acton and his team get those kids off the streets, onto the ice and into the jerseys of the Baltimore Banners hockey club.
"It’s just so rewarding because this kids really have a difficult, tough life," said Acton. "And to see them be happy and comfortable and relaxed and feel safe playing hockey... you can see how much difference it makes in these kids’ lives."
That’s why he does it. Now he is being recognized for it.
On Monday Acton was announced as one of three finalists for the National Hockey League’s Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award. Named after the first black player in the NHL, the award is given annually to an individual who - through the sport of hockey - has positively impacted his or her community, culture or society. The Banners surprised him with the news at a recent practice.
"That was the biggest surprise of my life," he said.
Acton is up against a finalist from Minnesota and one from Nova Scotia, Canada.
"I’m the southern boy," he laughed.
The winner, determined in part by online fan voting, receives $25,000 donated to the charity of their choice. The other two finalists get a $5,000 prize.
"All I hear from the kids is, ‘When can I start voting?’. Winning this is winning it for the kids," said Acton.
Voting opened on Monday and runs through April 17. You can vote here.
Ellicott City's Tami Lynch was a finalist for the award in 2019.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
