Baycrest Health Sciences Archives

My husband is in software and technology sales.
My brother manages a team of advisors at an insurance company.
My sister-in-law oversees clinical trials in biotechnology and health sciences.
I’m a former corporate trainer – and now, a blogger.

What do we all have in common? Our love for the good old hockey game.

Growing up in Canada, hockey wasn’t just a pastime – it was a religion. I can vividly recall my brother pouring over his Upper Deck and O Pee Chee hockey cards, memorizing the stats and organizing the players by team. Sometimes, I’d flip through the cards too, familiarizing myself with my favourite players from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
tournament9 Wendel Clark. Doug Gilmour. Mats Sundin.

These are the hockey greats that made an impression on me as a youth. Scoring a pair of tickets (pun intended) to a home game was akin to winning the lottery – we painted our faces, donned our jerseys and were ready to root for the boys in blue. And when we couldn’t see them live, we huddled in front of our televisions, humming along to the Hockey Night in Canada theme song.

Today, we’re continuing the tradition with our children. The boys attended their very first hockey game this past December, and for Christmas, they both received ice skates. Little by little, they are becoming absorbed in the sport that is synonymous with Canadian winter. And one day, the hockey greats that they are watching today – Austin Matthews, hooray! – will one day become legends. …

Wendel Clark. Darryl Sittler. Darcy Tucker and Al Iafrate. These are just a few of the hockey legends I grew up watching, huddled in front of the television on Saturday nights. I can recall the voices of the commentators, the sound of a slapshot and the feeling of euphoria when a goal light flashed red. Truly, following the Toronto Maple Leafs on their road to the Stanley Cup – er, post season? – will always have a special place in my childhood.

You too? Well, what if there was a chance to lace up with these hockey greats and more… all for a great cause?
pro-am-various56 Introducing the Scotiabank Pro-Am for Alzheimer’s in support of Baycrest. It’s the largest on-ice hockey charity tournament in North America! The tournament takes this year on May 5th and 6th, and allows everyday hockey fans the chance to team up with some of hockey’s greatest players. Now I’ll break down the ways you can participate in just a moment, but first, I wanted to chat about some of the recent wins in Alzheimer’s research, all thanks to the tournament.

Since its inception in 2004, the Scotiabank Baycrest Pro-Am has raised over $30 million to support Baycrest Health Sciences, a global leader in brain health and aging. And, the event is the largest source of new donors to the foundation year over year. In fact, ALL contributions to the event will help support Baycrest Health Sciences’ mission, part of which is to conduct research into cognitive diseases like Alzheimer’s. Seeing these tangible results, and knowing that my support is helping those with dementia or cognitive impairment, is all the motivation I need to get involved. (Donors to the Baycrest Foundation play a critical role in keeping Baycrest running, because government funding only makes up about 64% of revenues.) …

The Good Old Hockey Game

Hit the Ice at a Life-Changing Event!