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Hockey jerseys, football jerseys, basketball jerseys — no matter the sport or the team, much of the University of Calgary community donned sports jerseys on Thursday. It’s all in memory and support of the Humboldt Broncos, their families, friends and community following the tragic highway collision in Saskatchewan on April 6 that killed 16, injured 13 — and united the country in grief and a desire to help.

Here is what some members of the University of Calgary community had to say about  and  and why they decided to wear a jersey on Thursday.

“I’ve grown up with hockey, I come from a small town. This is breaking my heart personally. Wearing the jersey is just something I need to do to support them however I can,” says Barb McCutcheon, the scheduling co-ordinator at the University of Calgary. “I love seeing the jerseys all over campus. It makes us feel like a family — even though they are in Saskatchewan and we are in Alberta, it makes me feel closer to them and that the whole country is behind them.”

“My entire family is wearing jerseys today to show solidarity,” says Kenzie Rushton, who works with the Galileo Education Network, the professional learning arm of the Werklund School of Education. “I’m originally from the Maritimes, and my Mom walks with a woman in Moncton, New Brunswick who has a family connection with one of the people of the bus. It shows the cross-Canada reach of this tragedy.”

“I didn’t have a jersey big enough for myself, so I used my four-year-old son’s hockey jersey because he wanted to wear his rugby jersey to school. It was either this or my husband’s giant oversized jersey that I would have been swimming in,” says Heather O’Brien, the events co-ordinator at the Haskayne School of Business. “Everyone all around the world has been rocked by this accident and jersey day is an amazing way to bring people together to show support and honour the victims.”

President Elizabeth Cannon sported her own Dinos jersey to be a part of #jerseysforhumboldt. “When tragedy strikes and impacts all of us so deeply, sometimes it’s difficult to know where to look for support. Taking part in #jerseysforhumboldt has allowed us to show our solidarity with the friends and families of all those directly affected in Humboldt — and it has brought us together as a campus community to support each other.”

“Hockey has been my favourite sport for as long as I can remember,” says Jaimy Hannah, a fifth-year student in the Department of Psychology. “I’m from a small town in Ontario and that was all there was to do there so we were always out on the ice. So when I heard about these young kids, most of them younger than me, for this to happen is so sad. I just wanted to do anything to support them, to show solidarity.”

“Yes, you can give a monetary donation to the fund, but you can also show solidarity with a jersey,” says Hassan Chaudhry, a third-year computer science student. “I’m wearing a basketball jersey because it doesn’t have to be all about one sport. It’s about supporting teams and people and bringing people together in Canada and all over the world.”

“I’ve been following what happened closely, it was almost unbelievable,” says Pascal Eng, a first-year student at the Haskayne School of Business. “To hear that those guys were all around my age, it’s all so sad. But just seeing all the support and all the people that have come together because of this, it’s been overwhelming and wearing a jersey has helped me to feel more a part of that.”

“My younger brother is part of a football team,” says Ashley Williams, a second-year student in the Faculty of Science. “I just wanted to let the Humboldt team and families know that I am supporting them today. I love seeing the university come together to support this team.”

“I just wanted to show some love to the Humboldt Broncos today,” says Kiyan Davachi, a third-year student in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and a Dinos rugby team member. “I’ve never played hockey in my life, but I play team sports and I understand the significance of camaraderie that comes with that. The jersey is to show support for people going through a really rough time.”

“I’m wearing a jersey to show my support — I played against a couple of Humboldt Broncos guys back when I played hockey,” says James Pond,a second-year chemical engineering student in the Schulich School of Engineering and a Dinos rugby team member. “I don’t play anymore, but I have like over 20 jerseys at home and my Mom took them to her school to give out so students could wear them today. I brought some today, too, to loan out to friends.”

“Going on a bus is such a normal thing for us, we do it all the time,” says Katie Duncan, a first-year political science student and a defenceman on the Dino’s women’s hockey team. “Bus trips are where you truly bond with your team and your teammates are like your second family. This just really hit home for most of us. It’s one small way to support the Broncos.”

“I wore a jersey today because as a hockey mom to three boys, the Humboldt Broncos tragedy hit home and very hard,” says Aisling Gamble, a communications adviser at the Cumming School of Medicine. “We all feel we need to do something to let the families and community of Humboldt know that they are not alone, and something as simple as wearing a jersey or putting a stick out in their honour hopefully sends that message to them. It was awesome to see so many at the medical school showing their support today.”

Gamble helped organize two giving initiatives on Thursday at the University of Calgary’s Health Research Innovation Centre: A table was set up to accept donations for the First Responders fund as well as donations of usable hockey sticks as part of #PutYourSticksOut #SticksoutforHumboldt. Donations for both can still be made at the UME office. All sticks will be donated to .