Babcock ‘happy to jump on board’ with fundraising effort
Saskatoon native Mike Babcock lends his support to fundraising drive
Mike Babcock’s Toronto Maple Leafs are flying high — five straight wins, and a 6-1-0 record to start their season — but the head coach also has some side projects on the go.
For example: Babcock is the campaign ambassador for the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital Foundation. The hospital is currently under construction in his hometown of Saskatoon. It’s 87 per cent complete, and slated to open in late 2019.
The foundation continues to raise funds — it has collected $61 million so far — and Babcock is also part of its “We Are Saskatchewan” campaign.
He took a few minutes on Tuesday to talk with the Starphoenix about the hospital and his lifelong connection to Saskatchewan.
Q Your involvement with this children’s hospital began with a call from Deedee Maltman back in 2010, after you’d coached Team Canada to Olympic hockey gold. What do you remember from that call?
A I’ve known Deedee a long time, and when Deedee calls, you just do what she tells you. It’s so important that the province of Saskatchewan has a children’s hospital. When Deedee called, I was happy to jump on board.
Q Why the children’s hospital?
A I’ve been involved with children’s hospitals ever since I got to the National Hockey League. I’ve always hosted a child, every game, from the children’s hospital — whether that be Anaheim, Detroit, or now in Toronto. It’s an unbelievable thing to think that to get one of your kids looked after, you have to leave your home and move someplace else. I just had a young girl at the game (Monday) night from Labrador — four-year-old girl, it’s been a year in Toronto with her family. You’re a long way from home. I think it’s so important the province of Saskatchewan get behind this, and that we keep our kids at home — that we can look after them with the best people and the best facility, to give them the best chance to have a great life.
Q You’ve talked about the impact cancer has had on your life and the lives of people around you. Is there a tie-in between that and the work you’re doing now for the hospital? A I lost my mom to cancer, and two good friends have lost their sons to cancer. We really got involved with the cancer push, but to be honest with you, we’re much more involved with mental health now, my wife and I, at these children’s hospitals. That’s kind of been our focus. Anytime something impacts your family, I think you’re more likely to get involved, and that’s what’s happened to us.
Q You’re the hospital’s campaign ambassador. What does a campaign ambassador do?
A (Laughs) Whatever they tell you. The bottom line is, I don’t live in Saskatoon, and I’m not there every day to do the real work. I’m just here to support them in any way I possibly can. I think, as a parent, there would be nothing worse than one of your children not being healthy. Children are a gift from God and they change your life for the better, forever, and you want them to be looked after. That’s why this is so important.
Q You still return to this province regularly. Why and how does Saskatchewan retain its hold on you?
A We lived at Emma Lake forever, and we wanted our kids to grow up in Saskatchewan. You went home, and you met hardworking, honest people that are committed to family. We wanted our kids around that. It was an opportunity to see their grandparents and see their family, but also to be around great, great people. The greatest resource in Saskatchewan, without any question, is the people. The farmland’s special, but the people are second to none. We’re proud of that, and we felt it was important that our kids got to rub shoulders with those people.
Q What will it mean, on a personal level, when that children’s hospital is finally opened and the first kids are going through there? It’s nothing like what was here when you were akid…
A I was fortunate enough to be healthy. I couldn’t tell you what we had when I was a kid. I didn’t even know what cancer was, to be honest with you, until my mom got cancer. I didn’t know anything about mental health, (then) a few people around the lake lost their lives. Unless you’re involved in it, you don’t really know. Having a children’s hospital of our own, having the best of the best right there in Saskatoon for the province of Saskatchewan, is going to be special. And we need the people’s help.