via cortland.edu

Not many 18-year-olds can raise charity money by selling the naming rights of their backyard hockey rink to a national restaurant chain.

Then again, first-year SUNY Cortland student Nicholas Penberthy isn't like many other college students.

While growing up in snowy East Amherst, N.Y., Penberthy played ice hockey on his backyard rink, developing a passion for the sport matched only by his desire to help others.

His family's house, situated at the end of a cul-de-sac in suburban Buffalo, became a winter hot spot for neighborhood friends because of its skating surface. So in 2009, Penberthy created the Backyard Classic, a tournament that has raised more than $10,000 for young hockey players from low-income families.

Read more at cortland.edu