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November 22, 2005 - Linley Wartenberg
Mike Babcock recently stepped out his role of coach of the Detroit
Red Wings to promote a cause close to his heart.
Babcock joked and chatted with fans as he signed autographs at
Hockeytown Café on Oct., but his primary onus of the evening was to
begin to raise awareness of the Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation, for
which Babcock acts as a spokesman.
The foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Babcock’s
former neighbor in honor of his son, who died of a pediatric brain tumor
at the age of 12.
 Jeffrey
Hayden isn’t the first person close to Babcock who’s been lost to
cancer. It took his mother Gail; his friend Mark Rypien, who played in
the NFL, lost his 3-year-old son to the disease and Babcock’s agent’s
brother also lost his battle to cancer.
But it’s Jeffrey’s parents, Tim and Cindy Hayden, who have
spearheaded the foundation that Babcock fully supports, and he’s brought
the foundation’s interests from Anaheim to Michigan.
“I have a lot of friends that I’ve lost to brain tumors, and there’s
been no advancement in years, so we’re trying to make a difference,”
Babcock said as he took a break from signing for the fans.
Fifty fans greeted Babcock upon his arrival at the Hockeytown Café,
and many more came to meet the new coach during the two-hour event.
Everyone who came for an autograph was asked to bring a child’s book,
video or game to donate to the JTHF. It’s the second year for the
foundation’s book drive, and the dozen boxes of books collected will be
distributed to cancer centers at area hospitals. Fans also donated over
$200 towards the purchase of new books and games for the hospitals.
“We actually got a head start,” Red Wings community relations
director Anne Marie Krappmann said. “A fan from Grand Rapids sent five
boxes of books.”
Krappmann said Babcock informed her right off that he intended to
campaign for Detroit’s support of pediatric brain cancer awareness.
“I think it was right after he signed his contract and right before
we went to the press conference,” Krappmann recalled. “He said, ‘I’m
happy to meet you, I’m really involved with a foundation.’”
Babcock approaches the foundation with all the drive he brings to the
Red Winds bench.
“There’s been no advancement (in pediatric brain tumors) in 20-30
years,” he says. “That’s how testicular cancer was 20-30 years ago. Now
it’s an 87 percent cure rate. We have to do the same things for these
kids.”
Tim Hayden, who lived next door to the Babcocks when he coached in
Cincinnati, knows Babcock’s involvement with the foundation is rooted in
commitment.
“It’s not just a passing thing,” he said. He helped the coach set up
a company to handle his off-ice speaking engagements, hockey camps and
other things, and a portion of the funds Babcock earns from those
functions are earmarked to the foundation. He’s contributed $20,000 so
far, Hayden said.
The foundation itself has two functions: to raise money towards a
scholarship in Jeffrey’s name at Ohio State, and to bring together
parents of children diagnosed with pediatric brain tumors. Jeffrey, a
straight-A student, never got the opportunity to pursue his medical
degree at Ohio State, so the Hayden aims to create a scholarship in his
name.
The TumorTracker project will help parents of cancer-stricken
children communicate with each other and share the experiences,
diagnoses, therapies and treatments their children have had. That will
enable them to proceed with their own child’s treatment.
Babcock worked heavily to promote the foundation while in Anaheim,
and wants to branch out the awareness to the metro Detroit area as well.
He recognizes that his status as a professional coach will bring
interest to cancer prevention, and he’s determined to do what he can.
“By hook or by crook, he’s become a celebrity,” Hayden said. “But he
says, ‘It’s not about me, it’s about being a good person and doing the
right thing.’”
That’s exactly how Babcock sees it.
“One of the blessings you get from being in a position that has some
profile is you sometimes get to make a difference,” he explains. “You
should darn well take advantage of that opportunity.”
The Jeffrey Thomas Hayden Foundation is a registered 501c(3) non profit organization that was created to Make a Difference in
the fight against pediatric brain tumors. For more information visit our
web site at
www.jthf.org
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