| Shortly after Sian's death
in 1986, the first private donation to the Montreal
Children's Hospital was made in Sian's name.
During the next four years, many private donations were
made by individuals, as well as work and sports group
donations through various friends of Ken and Sharon
Bradwell. In 1988, Sharon presented a proposal for a
softball tournament to the Director of Recreation of
the Town of Kirkland, Neil Semenchuk, who gave the
project his full support. Representatives of the
Kirkland Mens' and Ladies' SlowPitch Leagues agreed to
help, and the first annual Sian Bradwell Softball
Tournament was held for the first time in 1989.
The Sian Bradwell Fund was formally established on
October 3rd, 1990, the sixth anniversary of her birth.
A series of fund-raising efforts was organised by the
Bradwells, their family, and friends. The largest
of these was the Sian Bradwell Softball Tournament,
and an annual jeans and clothing sale
contributed greatly. Several other events were
run over the next few years, including
- a netball tournament run by the Beaconsfield
Netball Club
- a softball game pitting the Kirkland Ladies'
SlowPitch League against the
CJAD Big Eights
- the T&ST Golf Tournament organised by Claudio
Trivisonno, a friend
- the Royal Bank Systems & Technology Golf
Tournament, organised by Joe Nicassio, another
friend
In 1997, work-related transfers took Ken and Sharon
to the Toronto area, and the task of organising the
1998 softball tournament fell to Alan Groombridge, a
member of the organising committee for several years
and a member of the
Kirkland Men's SlowPitch League (KMSPL).
Other volunteers have since come forward to keep the
tournament going, with great support from the town of
Kirkland, and the event is now a fixture in the West
Island area of Montreal.
In April of 2000, the Fund was incorporated, with a
home office in Kirkland, Quebec. An independent
auditor of financial statements is appointed each year,
if a volunteer can be found.
During the 2000 Tournament, a proposal was submitted
by Mike Gaudin, at that time vice-president of the West
Island Lakers Basketball Association (www.wilba.net), to
donate proceeds from the annual All-Star basketball
tournament to the Sian Bradwell Fund. Some 950 or
so youngsters from the age of 6 years to 16 years
participate in the league, and the all-star tournament
has been renamed the
Sian Bradwell-West Island Lakers Basketball Association
All-Star Weekend. The 10th anniversary of the
event in 2010 saw the inaugural
Shots For Sian raise over $11,000.
In 2010, the Sian Bradwell (3-Pitch) Softball
Tournament -- a successor to the Toronto 3-Pitch
Charity Challenge which held in the early-1990s -- was
held for the first time, to raise funds for the
Hospital For Sick Children (SickKids). |
