Joe Fornasier Joins Canadian Blind Hockey as Official Brand Ambassador
Canadian Blind Hockey is proud to announce that Joe Fornasier, member of the Canadian National Blind Hockey Team and one of the sport’s most recognizable ambassadors, has joined the organization as its Official Brand Ambassador and Fundraising Champion. In this new role, Fornasier will work alongside Canadian Blind Hockey to increase awareness of Blind Hockey, inspire students and communities, engage corporate partners, and help raise critical funding to expand programming opportunities for athletes who are blind or partially sighted across the country.
“We are incredibly thrilled to be working with Joe in an official brand ambassador capacity in effort to help grow awareness and increase our fundraising goals,” explains Matt Morrow, Executive Director at Canadian Blind Hockey. “Joe’s content has been a huge tool for growing awareness about the Para sport across Canada and worldwide. Combining a lifelong passion for hockey, an inspiring personal journey through vision loss, and a rapidly growing digital presence, Fornasier has become a powerful voice for resilience and inclusion and is now a recognizable hockey influencer across arenas.”
Through strategic partnerships, school & hockey team appearances, and fundraising initiatives, he will help Canadian Blind Hockey continue its mission of ensuring that every Canadian with vision loss has the opportunity to experience the life-changing benefits of sport.
“Blind Hockey changed my life,” said Joe Fornasier. “When I lost my eyesight, I could have focused on everything I thought I had lost. Instead, I learned to ask a different question: Why not me? That mindset has opened doors I never imagined possible,” reflects Fornasier. “I’m honoured to join Canadian Blind Hockey as Brand Ambassador and Fundraising Champion, and I look forward to helping more young people, families, and communities discover that obstacles don’t define you, they can become your greatest strength.”
The Joe Fornasier Ambassador Program provides organizations with a unique opportunity to align their brand with a meaningful and measurable social impact initiative. Through the program, partners gain exclusive access to Fornasier and his followers for keynote presentations, speaking engagements, community appearances, digital campaigns, fundraising initiatives, and experiential activations that highlight the transformative power of adaptive sport.
The program is designed to: -Inspire anyone, especially students, regardless of their journey, to build resistance and a stronger mindset. -Increase public awareness of Blind Hockey and adaptive sport across Canada. -Raise funding to support Canadian Blind Hockey programs, events and athletes. -Inspire children, youth and adults who are blind or partially sighted to participate in sport and recreation. -Build meaningful partnerships focused on inclusion, accessibility, and community impact.
Inspiring the next generation at schools and team building moments:
Beyond fundraising and advocacy, Fornasier’s presentations connect with audiences because they extend beyond hockey. Drawing from his experience of losing his sight and rediscovering his purpose through Blind Hockey, Fornasier encourages young people to overcome challenges with confidence and resilience. Whether students are facing bullying, anxiety, failure, disability, self-doubt, or the pressure to fit in, his message remains consistent: resilience is a skill that can be learned.
Key presentation messages include:
• Turning life’s challenges into your greatest strengths; shifting mindset from “Why Me?” to “Why Not Me?” • Understanding that confidence comes from taking action. • Discovering the power each person has to make a difference. As Canadian Blind Hockey continues its growth across the country, Joe Fornasier’s leadership as Official Brand Ambassador and Fundraising Champion will help create new opportunities for athletes, strengthen community partnerships, and ensure more Canadians have access to the sport they love.
About Canadian Blind Hockey Canadian Blind Hockey is a national registered charity that changes the lives of children, youth, and adults who are blind or partially sighted through local, regional, and national Blind Hockey programs, camps, and tournaments. Canadian Blind Hockey programs are made possible by our National Program Partner the CNIB Foundation and generous donors and sponsors across Canada. For more information please visit canadianblindhockey.com
About Joe Fornasier: Joe Fornasier is a Canadian Blind Hockey athlete, motivational speaker, and content creator. As a member of the Canadian National Blind Hockey Team and Official Brand Ambassador for Canadian Blind Hockey, Joe shares his journey of overcoming challenges, building confidence, and embracing opportunity. Through engaging stories, humour, and real-life experiences, Joe inspires audiences to challenge limitations, believe in themselves, and recognize that obstacles don’t have to define what they can achieve. Instead of saying “Why Me” try thinking “Why Not Me?”
Contact: joefornasier@blindicehockey.com Media: melcarrey@blindicehockey.com