Champion for Charity Jim McPherson won’t wilt in his family-tartan kilt on Fight Night By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca CAMBRIDGE — Jim McPherson Jr. fished a warm beer out of his bulging backpack and took a swig. The 360-degree view from atop Devils Tower refreshed his rock-climbing soul after a gruelling ascent. He and two buddies…
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Champion for Charity Nicole Colasimone would take a thousand-thousand hits to help make sure Mac is there should her son Jack need the children’s hospital By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca KITCHENER — You don’t think mothers belong in the boxing ring? Nicole Colasimone begs to differ. “If I can have a baby cut out of me…
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Champion for Charity Alex Kinsella thanks McMaster Children’s Hospital for helping oldest daughter survive and thrive By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca KITCHENER — Writing is boxing with a knockout combination of words. Boxing is writing with a fistful of real-world wallop. “Every punch someone throws is telling a story or part of a story,” said writer…
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Champion for Charity Jamie Reaburn takes a swing at The Bard and refuses to ‘play’ on the sidelines By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca KITCHENER — Hamlet? Fascinatingly tortured. Romeo and Juliet? Laughably melodramatic. Shakespeare? Verbosely hyped. “He’s overrated in my books,” said Jamie Reaburn, who pulls no literary punches as one of Mandy Bujold’s 20 Champions…
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Matthew Aubie has graphic designs on ‘glitz and grit’ of being a Champion for Charity. By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca WATERLOO — Yonge Street was thick with impatient cars and impenetrable fog. A yellow billboard glow cut through the coming night. Toronto traffic was relentless, as always. For new parents Matthew Aubie and his wife Julie,…
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Esther Kong eager to add boxing and Champions for Charity to her list of extraordinary exploits KITCHENER — The wind pummelled Esther Kong’s face with a flurry of gusty jabs. Her goggles wobbled violently. Beneath them, her glasses almost tumbled 11,000 feet to the Ottawa River below. This skydiving adventure with her dear friend Kathy,…
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Champion for Charity Kim Dawson knows not to embrace the ref in the boxing ring By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca WATERLOO — Kim Dawson figured the referee deserved a hug. After all, she had just been walloped on the left temple in a Salmon Arm ring. A standing eight-count was just the breather the Wilfrid Laurier…
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Champion for Charity Jeff MacIntyre fights for the ‘care and compassion’ of McMaster Children’s Hospital By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca HAMILTON — The ambulance pulled into McMaster Children’s Hospital. Jeff MacIntyre, scared and disbelieving, followed close behind. His daughter Emily seemed intent on making an early entrance into the world. How early? Too early. Her mother…
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Nick Benninger, Champion for Charity, adds fundraising to the menu as full training begins By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca KITCHENER — Fish sticks baked slowly in his childhood kitchen. The battered-haddock odour wafted through a Stanley Park home. Young Nick Benninger, a belly full of teenage temerity, complained to his mom Bonnie. “What are we eating…
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Brian Collins gets a new kick as a Champion for Charity By Jeff Hicks ChampsForCharity.ca KITCHENER — Brian Collins, after 30 years as a martial arts maven, knows karate. But boxing? Not so much. “Changing my approach is going to be a very difficult thing,” said Collins, a black belt in Goju Ryu Karate who will step…
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