Standardbred Canada staff stepped out of their usual business attire and into an ugly Christmas sweater frenzy last Friday all for a good cause.

Friday, December 19 was “Ugly Christmas Sweater Day” with proceeds supporting the Children’s Wish Foundation, and many of the employees at SC’s head office in Mississauga, Ontario, took part in the event.

The Ugly Christmas Sweater movement is about basking in the hideous warmth of an ugly sweater, having fun and doing good, and creating smiles. Working with The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, we raise money to fulfill a favorite wish for children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.

The Get Ugly, Grant Wishes folks take action by signing up as an Ugly Sweater Captain and raising funds, by running through the city in their finest, tackiest wool or by joining the season’s biggest party – the original Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.

On the same day, SC Staffers were putting the finishing touches on a mountain of gifts for a family they adopted for Christmas from the Salvation Army’s Adopt A Family Christmas program. Staff members either donated gifts or money for a family of five -- a Mom and her four young children -- who live in south Mississauga. The matriarch of the family is going to school full-time to be a nurse. Everyone was extremely generous with either the money they contributed or the gifts that they bought. Everything on the kids’ wish lists was taken care of; in addition to the toys, the kids will get new PJs, clothes and toiletries and a Christmas stocking filled to the brim!

Fan Club’s Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest Winner

In the spirit of the Christmas season, the Fan Club recently held a contest to see who had the ugliest Christmas sweater.

Brian Madill, of Kitchener, Ontario, was the winning entrant! Congratulations Brian, you will take home a Fan Club swag prize package, a $50 gift card to Mohawk Racetrack and the satisfaction of knowing $50 will be donated in your name to the Children’s Wish Foundation.

Brian’s roots in the industry date back to Mohawk’s heyday when his grandfather Bert Madill, who is a member of The Raceway at Western Fair District’s Hall of Fame, drove at the Campbellville Oval in the 1960s. Brian’s father Ron Madill has also trained and driven.