For a quarter century, you've helped babies born too soon, too small, too sick, or too far from care. It takes a special kind of heart to do that, and we see the very same heart in the six young curlers just named our 2026 Spirit of Sandra Scholars.

Now in its 13th year, the Spirit of Sandra Scholarship recognizes young curlers who give back, in their clubs, their classrooms, and their communities. This year’s class spans the country, from the territories to Ottawa:



• Katrina Frlan of Ottawa, ON — a returning Scholar studying at the University of Guelph for a Bachelor of Arts and Science
• Maisie Mears of Edmonton, AB — pursuing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at the University of Alberta
• Emma Deschiffart of Lacombe, AB — a returning Scholar studying accounting at the University of Saskatchewan
• Ella Skauge of Yellowknife, NT — bound for the University of Alberta to study sport and exercise science
• Bethany Evans of Kamloops, BC — a returning Scholar pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Earth Science at the University of Alberta
• Charles Snider of Whitehorse, YT — studying secondary education at the University of Alberta

Each Scholar receives a $5,000 scholarship and a year of mentorship from Olympic curlers Lisa Weagle and Brett Gallant. Over the coming year, each will host a fundraising event for the Foundation, and together they will help present a $10,000 grant to a Canadian hospital’s NICU to fund life-saving equipment.

These fundraisers add up: with this year's class, the Scholars and the supporters who rally behind them will push their all-time total past $200,000.

The Scholars’ year kicks off at the upcoming Scholar Camp in Calgary, where the class will join Lisa and Brett for two days of training, team-building, and a hospital visit to see up close the very equipment your gifts fund. Watch our social channels for a look inside camp.

“Twenty-five years in, these young people are exactly who Sandra would want carrying her name. They lead with heart, they give back, and they remind us why this work matters.” — Janet Murphy, Board Chair

Every birthday deserves a gift, and for our 25th, we wanted to give one that lasts. As part of our birthday celebrations, the Foundation created the NICU Graduate Scholarship: a $2,500 award for a former NICU patient now heading into post-secondary education. The babies this Foundation was created to help are now old enough to be heading off to college and university, and this award lets us cheer them on all over again.

Its first recipient is Maclain Agnew of Burlington, ON, who heads to Mohawk College this fall to study Esports Administration.

Maclain was born at 29 weeks and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Doctors once told his family he might never speak, read, or go on to post-secondary school. He has spent his life proving those limits wrong, and along the way became the first student in his school board to earn high school credits with full-time educational assistant support.

“The NICU was not just where I survived. It was where my fight began.” — Maclain, from his scholarship essay

Maclain’s story started in a NICU like the ones your generosity equips every year. Twenty-five years from now, we hope to be telling many more stories just like his.

This spring, North York General Hospital opened its revitalized Birthing Centre: a $22-million project funded entirely by the community, including $2 million in equipment. Among the upgrades are new bassinets, replacing wooden ones that had been worn down from years of use and no longer met safety standards.

The photo above says it best. On the right, the old wooden cribette that generations of newborns outlasted. On the left, the safer, modern equipment that now welcomes babies in its place. Your generosity is part of that transformation: earlier this year, you helped fund a Giraffe CareStation incubator and a transcutaneous blood gas monitor for North York General — $88,000 in specialized equipment. The Giraffe gives the hospital’s tiniest patients a warm, precisely controlled, protected environment, while the monitor tracks a baby’s oxygen and carbon dioxide levels through the skin, with no needle required.

“Babies born at North York General will not only be welcomed into a warm and safe environment, they’ll also have access to top-tier equipment in the Birthing Centre and the NICU thanks to donors like the Sandra Schmirler Foundation.” — North York General Hospital Foundation

Sometimes the biggest gift new equipment gives a care team is time and peace of mind.

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital is the only hospital on Central and North Vancouver Island equipped to care for babies born before 36 weeks — and the monitors watching over its youngest patients had reached the end of their life, with not enough to go around. Since 2024, your support has provided more than $53,400 to NRGH, funding two Maternity Unit fetal monitors and a NICU patient monitor, including a second fetal monitor presented just this June.

That thank you belongs to you. When nurses aren’t hunting for parts, they’re at the bedside — and for families on Vancouver Island facing some of life’s most uncertain moments, that’s exactly where your support puts them.

With only a brief sprinkle of rain (a tournament tradition at this point!), the 3rd Annual Birdies for Babies golf tournament filled Rideau View with great golf, great people, and incredible generosity.

Golfers, sponsors, and volunteers came together to reach the event’s $83,000 goal, fully funding a new EEG machine for CHEO — specialized equipment that monitors brain activity in newborns when every moment matters. In just three years, Birdies for Babies has raised more than $218,000 so newborns across Eastern Ontario have the life-saving equipment they need.

A special thank you to co-chairs Lisa Weagle and David Mathers, the organizing committee, and every sponsor, donor, and golfer who made the day such a success. One highlight worth sharing: the winner of the on-course 50/50 donated his winnings right back to the cause.

Your support of the Sandra Schmirler Foundation ensures we can continue to help

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