Calgary girl turns 8, hospital fundraiser celebrates

Six Calgary Hitmen players hit the ice to raise funds for the Alberta Children's Hospital Neurosurgery Unit, inspired by a very kind little girl.

Tallinn-Spring started collecting money for the hospital at the age of two.

For his eighth birthday this year, he organized a skating competition with six Calgary Hitmen players to support the cause.

“I want my skating to grow this year, so I wanted to ask my friends if his brother and some of his team could come this year,” Tallin said.

It all started when her older sister Lette was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy and needed brain surgery.

It inspired Tallin to help others like her sister, raising awareness and raising funds for brain disorders.

“So she took $100 from her piggy bank and took it to the children's hospital, and it just kept growing,” says her mom, Amy. “On her fourth birthday, she didn't ask for a birthday present, she just wanted money for Dr. Hader to continue his epilepsy neurosurgery research and money to continue helping her older sister as she prepares for her second birthday. brain surgery”.

“It's a very long and difficult journey for these families – it's never easy to watch your child go through this,” she added.

For the past three years, Tallinn and his family have held public skating events on his birthday.

Amy says she has raised $12,000 in six years and this year's goal is to raise another $5,000.

Tallinn is recruiting recruiters to increase exposure.

“My friends brother is a Hitman player, so I asked his mom if he could ask if his brother could come with other players,” he said. “So this year I'm skating with the Hitmen, but the Hitmen are on the ice at the same time as us, so we can skate with the Hitmen.”

Family, friends and the community came together on Sunday to skate with six players from the Calgary junior team.

Before the event even started, Tallinn reached his goal of raising $5,356.

He started a Facebook page called “Brothers of Neurosurgery” and continues to work on raising more funds.