Stratford teen has raised more than $32,000 for Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario through a trio of bowling socials
Jake Sippel has no plans to slow down.
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The Stratford teen has already raised more than $32,000 for Ronald McDonald House Southwestern Ontario through a trio of bowling socials, and he’ll add to that total May 5.
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“It makes me pretty proud of myself and I’m happy to do it,” he said. “It brings me a lot of joy knowing all of the hard work and everything it goes towards is a great cause, so it’s worth it and makes me happy too. I know it makes other people happy. . . so it’s something good I should be doing and continue doing.”
Sippel has a personal connection to the house, which provides a place for families to stay together that is steps away from a children’s hospital. He stayed there as a three year old after suffering second-degree burns to 40 per cent of his lower body when he jumped into a hot tub that had malfunctioned and over-heated.
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He was taken to London’s Children’s Hospital but was able to recover physically and mentally with his parents.
“I think about it every now and then,” he said. “That definitely impacted my recovery. If my parents weren’t there, I would have been a lot more scared of the hospital. I wasn’t scared, thankfully, because of the Ronald McDonald House, and I was able to have my family.
“It helped me feel more comfortable at the hospital.”
In addition to the bowling socials, Sippel, 15, held an item drive late last year that mostly provided Christmas gifts for families staying at the house.
“A lot of families need that because it is Christmas time, and those families have a lot of other things going on in their lives,” he said, “so some presents for kids really helps.”
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Giving back is something Sippel was born into. His parents run an annual slo-pitch tournament for cancer research, and he wants to make the bowling social a yearly event.
“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s just something that feels so natural and I want to do it. I definitely want to keep doing it, and it’s not something I plan on stopping anytime soon.”
The fourth social bowling at Stratford’s Mike’s Lanes starts at 1 pm There are three 90-minute time slots, with the others starting at 2:45 pm and 4:30 pm
The cost is $20 per person or $100 for a lane. With 12 lanes and up to 72 bowlers for each slot, Sippel will soon have another gift for Ronald McDonald House.
“It means a lot to me and my family,” he said, “and I want other people to know about its great impact.”
For more information, email [email protected] or call/text 226-880-1881.
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