Street hockey action sees a lot of slapshots with some tough sticks. This weekend, one St. Albert woman is going to use the sports arena as a venue to talk about how some small sticks — Q-Tips — can score too.
Jen Matichuk is holding a bone marrow drive at the Play On! Four on Four street hockey tournament today and tomorrow. She knows how important her message is as a good friend and Yale University hockey teammate of hers, Mandi Schwartz, is one of the more than 700 people in the country currently on the waiting list for a bone marrow transplant as treatment for her leukemia.
"When Mandi came back to school in January, I didn't really know much about leukemia. I thought she was going to be OK," she said. Later the coach told the team that their friend had relapsed. "It really hit home for everyone."
Right after that the school held a bone marrow drive and the team drove up support with more than 900 new registrations. "That's a record in the United States."
Even though Matichuk is back home, she's still taking her message to as many people as possible. Getting on the bone marrow registry is simple and only requires a basic form and a Q-tip swab inside your cheek. Her drive at this weekend's tournament will also focus on signing up expectant mothers since blood from umbilical cords is ideal for transplants.
Mandi recently got engaged too but needs a perfect bone marrow match to survive.
"We're hoping that we can find some heroes at our bone marrow drive and save some lives, including Mandi's."
Matichuk hopes to get between 1,000 and 2,000 people signed up this weekend.
The tournament takes place in the West Edmonton Mall north parking lot starting at 8 a.m. For more information on the drive, please visit Become Mandi's Hero on Facebook or www.becomemandishero.org.
Final figure higher
Two weeks ago the Grade 9 Leadership students at W.D. Cuts aimed to raise $1,500 to help support the family of Maddox Flynn as they went to New York for tricky facial surgery on his bulging cystic hygroma. The kids hit the ground running and went gangbusters for the two-year-old Edmonton boy and in the end ran past the goal and kept on trucking.
They raised more than $3,000 and assistant principal JoAnn Blachford said that similar efforts at Muriel Martin brought in another $1,200. The money was presented to Flynn's parents at a special assembly at Cuts yesterday afternoon. Sir George Simpson also raised an unspecified amount.
"Considering what a small school we are, it was pretty exciting for them. They did a good job."
To learn more about Flynn's treatment and recovery, or to offer help, please visit maddoxsjourney.blogspot.com or go to 'Maddox Flynn's Medical Journey' on Facebook.
