Senators' Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle launch CHEO fundraiser with pledge for every win

Senators captain Thomas Chabot wears a hat to promote the charity initiative in which he and teammate Tim Stutzle will give $1,872 (representing their jersey numbers) to CHEO for each win by the NHL club this season. Photo by Bruce Garrioch /Postmedia

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Thomas Chabot and Tim Stutzle are giving a big assist to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario this season.

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The Ottawa Senators‘ captain and alternate captain launched their CHEO charity initiative by announcing Saturday that they’d donate $1,872 each to the hospital for every win by the team this season.

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Working in conjunction with the Senators Community Foundation, Chabot and Stutzle are asking fans to get involved. They’re doing it in honour of the late Griffin Bell, a Senators fan who died at age six after a battle with cancer.

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With three victories in the books this season heading into Saturday night’s visit by the Nashville Predators, Chabot and Stutzle had already donated $5,616 each to the cause. The foundation has also launched a website where people can make one-time donations or contribute for every victory.

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“Chabby and I have been thinking about this for a while now,” Stutzle said Saturday morning. “It’s really exciting news. We’re going to donate for every Sens win, and it’s for a great cause. We want other people to join us as well.

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“That’s what this is all about: bringing the community together and supporting a great cause.”

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Senators centre Tim Stützle says he and captain Thomas Chabot have been thinking about their CHEO fundraising initiative “for a while now. It’s really exciting news.” Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

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Naturally, the $1,872 donation reflects Stutzle’s No. 18 jersey and Chabot’s No. 72. Bell touched both of their lives, as well as those of his parents, Tamy and Evan Bell, and this is an excellent way to give back to the CHEO Foundation.

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“Every time we go to CHEO, it hits us pretty hard,” Stutzle said. “Everybody knows Griffy. He’s been around the room. There’s no better guy to do it with than Chabby. It hits him really hard as well, and he’s a family guy.

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“When families go through something like this, it’s brutal.”

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Chabot and his wife, Marion, welcomed their first child, daughter Romy, on Sept. 26.

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“We talked about it for a while and we were fortunate enough to get close with the Bell family,” Chabot said. “Griff was part of it. He spent a lot of time at the rink with us on practice and game days.

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“When we lost him, we thought about trying to build something and we came up with this idea. We’ve talked about it for about the last year and we’re glad to finally be doing something with it.”

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Success on the ice for the National Hockey League club will mean money for CHEO off the ice, and that means everybody benefits.

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“Hopefully, the fans and the community join us in donating whatever amount they can,” Chabot said. “Yes, it’s Timmy and I, but the whole community and team have always been behind supporting the community and trying to do their part.

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“When the Sens win, everybody in Ottawa is happy and so are we. This is just a bonus on top of it. We get the win, we get the two points, but, more importantly, we donate some money for all the families in need.”

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