Minor hockey and philanthropy teamed up on the Family Day weekend to score big for the Stollery Children's Hospital.
The 12th annual Family Day Classic tournament, from Feb. 17-20, raised almost $600,000 for the hospital, and two teams from St. Albert did their part by raising more than $100,000 combined.
The U11 St. Albert Cobras and top fundraiser Mason George, 9, raised $55,350, while the U13 St. Albert Sabres, and their respective top fundraiser Maxx George, 12, raised $46,994.
In case you're wondering: yes, Mason and Maxx are brothers.
While the Cobras and Sabres reached their fundraising totals through a strong group effort — multiple players from both teams raised over $10,000 — the cause is personal for the George family.
The Georges are no strangers to the Stollery Children's Hospital. For the past 10 years parents Kevin and Kim have volunteered and raised funds for the hospital in memory of their two daughters.
Maddie George was born in October 2012 with a tumour. Although tests eventually confirmed the tumour wasn't cancerous, Maddie developed meningitis and ventriculitis, and passed away just two months later.
In 2015, while pregnant with their daughter Everly, the Georges found themselves in the Stollery once again.
Before Everly was born, tests found she had a heart defect and an inoperable genetic disorder. Everly was born on August 27, 2015, and passed away the next day.
After the death of their second daughter, the George family organized the Maddie Betty George and Everly Maddie George Memorial through the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation. To date, nearly $400,000 has been donated to the Stollery through the Georges' memorial, including the funds raised by Mason's and Maxx's hockey teams last month.
“We were shocked,” Kim said when asked how it felt to see the two teams raise as much as they did. “It was unbelievable.”
“Any time you start a fundraiser you just hope you can get enough, and then it just spiralled and everyone got on board,” she said.
Two anonymous donations of $25,000 each made to Mason and Maxx boosted the fundraising total.
Kim said the donations were from a family friend, but still came as a surprise.
“They just did it because they love our boys and they support the Stollery,” she said. “We were shocked as well.”
Despite the Cobras and Sabres raising as much as they did, the tournament's top fundraising team was actually the U11 Strathcona Vipers, who raised $57,425. Leading the Vipers to the top spot was Maverick Vleeming, who managed to raise $55,600 on his own.
Giving back
“After Maddie had passed away, we decided that we wanted to get involved in one way or another with the Stollery,” Kevin said.
He and Kim served on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Family Advisory Care Team (FACT), a parent-based volunteer group who collaborate and meet regularly with hospital staff to make the parent experience in the NICU as positive as possible.
Around the same time, Kevin said, the family began participating in the Stollery Foundation's annual Teddy Bear Fun Run, formerly called the Mother's Day Run, Walk, and Ride.
“That is the biggest thing that we've always done,” he said.
Following their time on the NICU FACT, Kevin joined the Patient and Family Centred Care Council, through which he was able to give a parent's perspective on some of the programs and services in the hospital. Meanwhile, Kim volunteered year after year for the Corus Radiothon fundraiser.
In 2018, Kevin joined the Stollery Foundation's board of directors and has remained a board member since.
With 10 years of volunteering and fundraising under their belts, Kevin and Kim, along with Mason and Maxx, have no intention of slowing down.
“Once you've been in (the Stollery) and had the experience, then you understand where all the funds go,” Kim said. “It's a whole different perspective.”
“It gives you more of a passion and enthusiasm to raise.”
