Champion for Charity John Deans channels his inner Stallone for The Brawl at Tapestry Hall By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca The lion on the big screen roared. Little John Deans, almost 6, settled back into his lumpy Londonderry cinema seat beside his mom Alison and grabbed a mitt-full of buttery popcorn. One word crawled across the screen, 10-storeys high it seemed,…
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Daughter Sadie walks Champion for Charity Jason Hunke into the ring for MacKids By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca AYR — A brown-eyed girl with a mischievous smile has a vice-grip on her dad’s heart. She’ll wear a flowing blue dress Fight Night as she walks her father, Jason Hunke, into the boxing ring at the centre…
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Champion for Charity Jill Lawrie ready to take a punch for MacKids — in fact, she already has! By Jeff Hicks www.champsforcharity.ca CAMBRIDGE — Keep your hands up. Always. Or get punched in the face. That’s a free boxing lesson to keep in mind as The Brawl at Tapestry Hall unfolds on April 4 with…
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Champion for Charity Jen Ziegler ready to defend home plate for the Red Team and MacKids KITCHENER — The freight train wore cleats and charged hard from third base. Jen Ziegler flung her catcher’s mask off and held her hallowed ground at home plate. Steal home on Ziegler, future real estate agent extraordinaire? Not on…
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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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