Sandra Schmirler Foundation announces junior curling scholarships

The Sandra Schmirler Foundation is indebted to the curling community for its support of our mandate, which is to raise funds to help purchase equipment for neonatal units in hospitals across Canada to help save the lives of babies born premature or critically ill. To date, we have donated over $2.2 million to 27 hospitals across Canada. We are so proud that we are continuing to keep Sandra’s legacy alive by helping to save the lives of babies born too soon, too small or too sick. We recently announced a new fundraising initiative with the introduction of two new “Champions.”  Jon Mead and Cathy Overton-Clapham have agreed to take on the role of mentoring youth and acting as spokespersons for the Foundation. We are excited to announce that we will now be offering six annual $5,000 scholarships for junior curlers who are pursuing their competitive careers while maintaining their post-secondary studies. All of the details are available on our website at www.sandraschmirler.org. We believe that all “Champions Start Small.”  This promise relates to babies that are born under challenging circumstances requiring sophisticated medical care. These are babies whose start in life is incredibly challenging. It also relates to young athletes who we hope will dream big. Our Foundation also wants to help them become champions like Sandra.  This is her legacy. This is why the Sandra Schmirler Foundation exists. We celebrate the will to live that we see in babies born with incredible life challenges. We also celebrate youth and their desire to be the best that they can be and maybe, just maybe, reach the heights of a champion, like Sandra. “We are so excited about this initiative and the mentoring from our Champions that we feel will help our scholars grow and be successful,”said Theresa Breen, Chair of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. “The Canadian Curling Association celebrates this initiative of the Foundation,” said Greg Stremlaw, CEO of the CCA and advisor to the Foundation. “This is a program that we fully support and that we hope will help develop young talent and encourage them to reach for the stars.” “2013 marks the 15th anniversary of Sandra and her team winning Olympic gold medals,” said Breen. “We are very grateful to the curling community for their on-going support and we continue to work closely with the Canadian Curling Association to ensure that Sandra’s legacy lives on.” For more information: Robin Wilson Leadership Director, Sandra Schmirler Foundation [email protected] 604-230-5871 (cell)