ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — The Rochester Knighthawks will honor veterans with Military Appreciation Night this Saturday, February 29 at 7:00 p.m. when they face the New York Riptides.

Fans can bid on the specially designed military-themed game-worn Knighthawks jerseys with the proceeds going to Rochester’s Veterans Outreach Center.

Knighthawks Vice President of Business Operations Rob Minter and VOC Events Coordinator Kim Osur discussed the evening Wednesday during News 8 at Noon.

“It’s something we’re really excited about,” said Minter. “We’ve had a relationship with the VOC for years on the Amerks side and it was important for us to continue to do it on the Knighthawks side as well. It’s our responsibility to the community to continue to help out all the local programs and activists, and things that we can to help veterans and active and retired members of the military for all the hard work that they do and to keep our country safe, and all the great things that they allow us to do here.”

Every Knighthawks player will be wearing the special game jersey. “It’s really sharp,” Minter said. “We’re really happy with how it came out. It’s got the Hawk on the front and then kind of the ‘585’ with the Sergeant stripes on the shoulders there. So it’s really cool. So these are available for auction right now. You can go to RochesterKnighthawks.com/militaryauction for more information on that. And it’s all done through an app that we use called ‘Dash’ which teams have used in the past. You go on there, you look for the Knighthawks and you can bid on any of the jerseys there. All of the proceeds from this auction are going to go to the VOC. So for all their efforts and all that they do in our community, this is our way of giving back to them. It’s a great opportunity for fans. They’ll get these off the player’s backs on Saturday night after the game.”

Osur said for the VOC, the jersey auction will provide much-needed funding. “The proceeds really help the critical life-changing programs and services that the Veterans Outreach Center can give to our local veterans and their families.”

Complimentary tickets are available to all active, reserve, National Guard, and retired military personnel courtesy of the Veterans Outreach Center and Isaac Heating & Air Conditioning. They can be obtained at the VOC office on South Avenue in Rochester, at the Blue Cross Arena Box Office, or online at RochesterKnighthawks.com.