It’s been an exciting month for the Atlantic Award Group. Just a few days ago, we presented our first award in Newfoundland & Labrador, thanks to the support of our friends at Investors Group. The award was presented to Todd and Kimberly Churchill by IG Regional Director, Paul Doyle. The award recognizes their fundraising efforts for various charitable causes.
Todd and Kimberly, a married couple from Portugal Cove in St. Philips live with their two young sons, Hunter and Carter. Carter was born on the 8th of February 2011 and spent 4 weeks in the NICU at the Janeway Children’s Hospital due to numerous complications at birth. While eventually overcoming those problems, he was later diagnosed as profoundly deaf in May 2011 and was later implanted with cochlear implants in December 2011. He was then subsequently diagnosed with cerebral palsy in January 2012.
To support their son, Todd and Kimberly became active in various fundraising projects for charities associated with supporting Carter’s conditions; such as Easter Seals NL and Mazol Shriners. For example, they both participated in the Easter Seals’ Drop Zone event in St. John’s in 2012 and Todd also did the Toronto Drop Zone later in the Fall. He did the St. John’s Drop Zone again in 2013 and 2014. In total they raised over $25,000 for that particular event.
One of the primary focuses of the award is for their project, Reason for the Rink. Todd designed and built a 95’ x 46’ outdoor ice hockey rink in his backyard. This rink was complete with boards ads, lines, nets, lighting, logos, and ice of course. The rink is approximately 1/4 scale of a NHL sized rink. He estimated his expenses at $15,000 to build the rink, and not a penny of the money he raised through sponsorship and use of the rink was used to fund the project. It all went straight to charity and they paid for the build out of their own pocket.
In a statement to CBC, Todd said,
“It’s great knowing that I am helping the charities that are helping him,” he said. “It’s a great mental break, too, because sometimes when you have stress in your life you need a distraction and that’s what this has been for me.”
“As any parent will tell you who has children with special needs, it’s a very helpless feeling,” he said.
“You want to do something and this is what my wife and I have decided we are going to do. We’ve really thrown ourselves into the charities associated with his condition.”
Todd and Kimberly took to Facebook last week via the Reason for the Rink Facebook page and thanked Investors Group and the anonymous individual that nominated them for the award.
Investors Group Regional Director, Paul Doyle said:
“We met with Todd Churchill and we are delighted to help support him with this very worthwhile cause. Todd has done a fantastic job with the reason for the rink to highlight those much needed charities he is supporting. It is a tremendous amount of work for him and it’s a labour of love in relation to his son who was diagnosed with CP at an early age.”
The Atlantic Award Group would like to congratulate Mr and Mrs Churchill on their award and wish them and their family the very best for the future.