February 7, 2019

Sunshine Maker Club Welcomes Grey Cup Champ Mike McCullough

Those who pledge a monthly donation to support Saskatchewan kids in hospital are welcoming a familiar face to their team. Grey Cup Champion Mike McCullough and his family have stepped into a new role as Team Captain for the Sunshine Maker Club – Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation’s convenient monthly giving program.

“Giving an automatic monthly donation is easy and meaningful to me and my family,” said McCullough. “Monthly gifts add up to make a big difference and kids need health care each and every day. We’re doing our part to support them and thank you for joining our team.”

After years of serving as Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Capital Campaign Ambassadors, Mike and his wife Laura knew that representing the monthly giving program would help raise the bar on fundraising. Since becoming monthly donors in 2007, they have seen first-hand how much impact can be made together as a body of generous donors.

The cause deeply resonates with the family after they spent nearly two years travelling to children’s hospitals across North America with their son Cole, who was diagnosed with a seizure disorder and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Tragically, Cole passed away in his sleep after suffering a seizure on February 17, 2009. The family of six now advocates on Cole’s behalf for the best possible pediatric care in Saskatchewan in hopes of keeping other families closer to home when their child is sick.

Support from monthly donors helps to fund urgent maternal and pediatric equipment needs like transcutaneous monitors to reduce needle pokes and a video laryngoscope to help babies breathe easier. Each donation stays right here in Saskatchewan and is combined with other monthly gifts to make a significant difference throughout the year. Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation’s monthly giving program currently has 776 dedicated donors from 180 Saskatchewan communities, with 317 of those donors giving since the program first kicked off in 2004.

“I am happy and proud to be making an impact each month in a convenient way,” said Calvin Fowler of Saskatoon, who has been a monthly donor since 2005. “It’s great to know that my contribution is continually making a big difference for families who need it.”

“Our Sunshine Makers do so much more than spread a little sunshine for our province’s sickest children,” says Brynn Boback-Lane, president and CEO of Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. “These are the folks who say, ‘You can count on me’ to families who are searching for hope. We are so grateful for our monthly donors and for the McCullough family’s commitment in bringing awareness to this meaningful way of giving.”

For more information on becoming a monthly donor, please read about the Sunshine Maker Club here.