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He might have been in Miami Wednesday morning while Toronto braved a winter wind storm, but a Swansea native's thoughts were on Canada's favourite past time.

"I can't wait to get back," said James Rutherford, who is at the University of Miami pursuing a Masters of Business Administration - while on a golf scholarship.

He managed to get to the Rennie Park rink a couple of times while home for Christmas, but he's still anxious to be back in Toronto.

Rutherford grew up playing hockey and started playing with the Swansea Hockey Association at the age of five. He played for Swansea for five or six years, he said, and then moved on to a more competitive league, never severing his ties with Swansea Hockey.

Rutherford returned to referee games from the age of 16 until two years ago when he was 26. Now, he's keeping in touch with the hockey association by providing local kids with the opportunity to play the game.

"It's such a great hockey league, it's awesome," Rutherford said.

When he was growing up, he noticed that a lot of his friends didn't get the chance to play hockey because of the high cost of equipment and fees. This is what inspired Rutherford, along with a friend of his, to raise money to help other kids.

"We looked into creating a charity, but there are barriers - you have to pay fees every year and we didn't want to take money away from the kids," he said.

Instead, they did it their way.

They hosted a poker tournament and a pub crawl. Both were hugely successful events that raised significant funds. From the poker tournament, they were able to help one child play hockey while they gave $100 each for other children to buy school books.

This is their second year helping children. They're supporting four kids this season. Through refereeing Rutherford is able to find out who needs the extra help. They find equipment at discounted prices and the Swansea Hockey Association waives its fees.

"We try to identify kids who would like to play and make that happen," said president Gail Oxtoby. "We try to make it completely accessible hockey for those who really want to play."

Although he's still in his second year at the University of Miami, Rutherford knows he'd like to continue the outreach program for many years.

If you would like to help or make a donation, contact jamesmrutherford@hotmail.com.