by Kyle Reid
Kids Curing Cancer held its third annual hockey day fundraiser last Sunday at Amherstburg’s Libro Arena in support of the Fight Like Mason Foundation.
The event, held in partnership with the Amherstburg Minor Hockey Association, has become an annual event, supporting local cancer charities. Lauren Baillargeon, an Amherstburg-based grade 9 student, founded Kids Curing Cancer nearly five years ago after the death of her grandfather, Dan Gerard. Since then, the group has raised nearly $40,000 for a number of charities and causes through a variety of events.
“It’s just kind of snowballed and gotten bigger and bigger since then,” Lauren’s mother Jodi Baillargeon said.
The annual hockey day fundraiser has become one of Kids Curing Cancer’s most successful fundraisers for connecting with the local community. Twenty-nine minor hockey teams took part in this year’s fundraiser, all wearing yellow armbands in support of the Fight Like Mason Foundation. The minor hockey teams worked to raise donations for the Fight Like Mason Foundation, with the highest raising team winning tickets to see the Windsor Spitfires at an upcoming game.
A Team Canada hockey jersey signed by former Spitfires’ goaltender Michael DiPietro was also raffled off at the event.
The hockey day fundraiser has supported the Fight Like Mason Foundation for the past three years. The charity was founded in memory of Mason Macri, who passed away from cancer at four-years-old. His parents created the foundation shortly after.
Macri’s parents, Chantelle Bacon and Iain Macri, said they were humbled to see the support from the community. The money raised from Sunday’s hockey day will go a long way to supporting the foundation’s goals, they said.
“We have lots of goals to reach this year for childhood cancer, and we’re not going to stop until we beat that villain for good,” Bacon said, adding that the foundation is looking to expand programs to help local families who return to Windsor-Essex from treatment at hospitals in London and Toronto.
“We’re definitely interested in funding more research grants,” Macri added. “Today we’ve already put $120,000 worth of money in our communities fund towards two incredible grants that are trying to cure childhood cancer.”
The annual hockey day is a lead-up to Kids Curing Cancer’s biggest fundraiser — a pasta and music night, which will take place at Sprucewood Winery on February 16th. Tickets are nearly sold out, but anyone interested in attending can contact Jodi Baillargeon at 519-551-5606, or at jodibaillargeon@gmail.com.