NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- There's very little that can rival the magic that happens when the NHL's legendary New York Rangers hit the ice; especially when it's in celebration of the annual Skate with the Greats charity event to benefit Ronald McDonald(®) House New York. In its 20(th) year, Skate with the Greats once again took place on Friday, January 17(th) at New York City's famed Rink at Rockefeller Center, raising more than $1 million. The funds raised will help support the facility, which provides a home-away-from home for families staying in New York City while their children undergo active treatment for cancer.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140121/NY48527 )

Originally established with the support of alumni greats and longtime volunteers Rod Gilbert and Brian Leetch, the event included Ron Duguay, Pete Stemkowski, Adam Graves, and Mike Richter also joined the families and supporters of Ronald McDonald House New York for the event. The Rangers participation is made possible through a partnership with the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a non-profit charity that works closely with the Rangers and all areas of Madison Square Garden to make dreams come true for children facing obstacles.

This year's lead sponsor was RBC Capital Markets, with additional sponsorship from Garden of Dreams Foundation, Brookfield Office Properties, Bloomberg, Zurich, PwC, Coatue Capital, Mutual of America, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co, LLC and Steven Bensinger.

"Giving back to the community is ingrained in RBC Capital Markets' corporate culture," said Deborah Freer, U.S. COO of RBC Capital Markets. "RBC's partnership with Ronald McDonald House has spanned seven years and our investment in the House goes beyond Skate with the Greats, taking on a much more personal element."

Attendees enjoyed ice skating with the Rangers on the iconic Rockefeller Center rink; a live and a silent auction with much sought-after sports memorabilia, concluding with an autograph session with some of their favorite Rangers players.

"We always enjoy kicking off a new year with the Skate with the Greats event, the enthusiasm of the Rangers fans adds an additional element to the atmosphere and everyone is excited to be there," said William T. Sullivan, president and CEO of Ronald McDonald House New York. "The event is made possible by the ongoing support and leadership of our partner organizations, especially as we celebrate a major milestone for this event. We are sincerely grateful to these organizations and, of course, to the New York Rangers for their continued support and generosity."

About Ronald McDonald House New York
Ronald McDonald House® New York provides temporary housing for pediatric cancer patients and their families in a strong, supportive and caring environment which encourages and nurtures the development of child-to-child and parent-to-parent support systems. Ronald McDonald House New York is the largest facility of its type in the world. The House can accommodate 84 families, and it is filled to capacity almost every night. The House's location in Manhattan, in close proximity to 13 major cancer treatment centers, draws children and families from across the country and the world, as well as from the metropolitan New York City area. Since its founding, more than 30,000 families have stayed at Ronald McDonald House New York. For more information, visit www.rmh-newyork.org.

About the Garden of Dreams Foundation
The Garden of Dreams Foundation works with The Madison Square Garden Company to positively impact the lives of children facing obstacles. Through ongoing programs that use the magic of MSG - including the Rangers, the Knicks, the Liberty, MSG Entertainment, MSG Networks and Fuse - the Foundation develops strong, long-term relationships that truly change lives. Since its inception in September 2006, Garden of Dreams has created thousands of once-in-a-lifetime experiences that have brought joy and happiness to more than 250,000 children and their families, including those facing homelessness, extreme poverty, illness and foster care.

About the New York Rangers Hockey Club
The Madison Square Garden Company is a fully-integrated sports, media and entertainment business. The Company is comprised of three business segments: MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment, which are strategically aligned to work together to drive the Company's overall business, which is built on a foundation of iconic venues and compelling content that the company creates, produces, presents and/or distributes through its programming networks and other media assets. MSG Sports owns and operates the following sports franchises: the New York Knicks (NBA), the New York Rangers (NHL), the New York Liberty (WNBA), and the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL). MSG Sports also features the presentation of a wide variety of live sporting events including professional boxing, college basketball, bull riding and tennis. MSG Media is a leader in production and content development for multiple distribution platforms, including content originating from the Company's venues. MSG Media's television networks consist of regional sports networks, MSG Network and MSG+, collectively referred to as MSG Networks; and Fuse, a national television network dedicated to music. MSG Networks also include high-definition channels, MSG HD and MSG+ HD, and Fuse includes its high-definition channel, Fuse HD. MSG Entertainment is one of the country's leaders in live entertainment. MSG Entertainment creates, produces and/or presents a variety of live productions, including the Radio City Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes. MSG Entertainment also presents or hosts other live entertainment events such as concerts, family shows and special events in the Company's diverse collection of venues. These venues consist of Madison Square Garden, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre, the Forum in Inglewood, CA, The Chicago Theatre, and the Wang Theatre in Boston, MA. More information is available at www.themadisonsquaregardencompany.com.

About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) is Canada's largest bank and one of the largest banks in the world, based on market capitalization. We are one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies, and provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, investor services and capital markets products and services on a global basis. We employ approximately 79,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the U.S. and 44 other countries. For more information, please visit rbc.com.

RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations, sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2012, we contributed more than $95 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community investments of more than $64 million and $31 million in sponsorships.

About Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company's strength - delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately - is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 310,000 subscribers globally.

SOURCE Ronald McDonald House New York