Champion for Charity Haley McIntosh saw ‘out-of-this-world’ care for son Wyatt at McMaster Children’s Hospital By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca CALEDONIA — Haley McIntosh, professional number-cruncher and mother of two, will be terrified. But her slow, sombre march to the squared circle will be punctuated by an entrance dirge — Johnny Cash’s God’s Gonna Cut You Down…
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Lots of love, lots of chirps at first-ever Champions for Charity Weigh-in By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca CAMBRIDGE — Hugs. Fist bumps and flexes. Verbal jabs. Wednesday’s Weigh-in and Press Conference for Mandy Bujold’s Champions for Charity had it all. One of the 20 first-time boxers — who’ve collectively raised $575,000 and council for McMaster Children’s Hospital —…
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Champions for Charity ‘lifesaving’ donations exceed $1-Million for MacKids since 2019 By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca KITCHENER — A million fundraising jabs. A million beads of community sweat. A million dollars for our kids. Donations for Mandy Bujold’s third Champions for Charity fundraising boxing event soared past the goal of $500,000 in March — meaning the…
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Champion for Charity Shant Sarmazian knows well how crucial children’s hospitals can be for families By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca PUSLINCH — This is not about flooring or boxing. For Shant Sarmazian, one of Mandy Bujold’s 20 Champions for Charity, this goes deeper. “We all have a shadow, right?” said the 45-year-old father of three. Sarmazian certainly does.…
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Champion for Charity Kristin Diebel stays patient with herself, patient with the process for ring debut By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca KITCHENER The two secret letters are often hidden from sight. Buried beneath Kristin Diebel’s Red Team boxing gloves. Concealed also by a snug hand wrap. The ever-optimistic mother of two, one of Mandy Bujold’s 20 Champions…
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Champion for Charity Anne Filiatrault blends artistic brushstrokes with Ali anchor punches By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca KITCHENER — Claude Monet. Edgar Degas. Muhammad Ali. Anne Filiatrault, a Canadian artist and one of Mandy Bujold’s 20 Champions for Charity, has a keen eye for the greatest canvas heavyweights of all time. That’s why the 55-year-old professional painter from…
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Champion for Charity Jason Kropf has an appetite for the Sweet Science of fundraising for MacKids By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca KITCHENER — An eerily unfamiliar face approached in the cool evening air of a grocery store parking lot. From the deepest pocket of his working pants, the mysterious stranger unfolded a brown piece of polymer.…
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Champion for Charity Shannon Gerryts shares the secret to training horses, purple gorillas and herself By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca GUELPH — Shannon Gerryts, 46, has been horse-smitten since she was six years old. That’s when her dad Gary bought her a tiny bay pony, a Welsh cob mare named Blacks Victoria. “Vicki” could be a…
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Paul Sousa leader of the Champions for Charity pack when it comes for fundraising for MacKids By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca KITCHENER — Syd Vanderpool scanned the 10 future boxing beasts before him. It was Day 1 of Champions for Charity training and the Red Team coach, a former belt-wearing pro pugilist, wanted to know which ferocious animal…
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Champion for Charity Harmony Voisin ready to throw all 6 punches for MacKids By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca KITCHENER — Harmony Voisin lowered her fists and stared at her coaches blank-faced. “You’re telling me there’s six punches in boxing?” said Voisin, dripping with sweaty disbelief. For the first few weeks of training as one of Mandy…
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