Nice Article about poker players
Nice to see players in a positive light.
I expect another article soon about how the uncaring gov't beauracracy is screwing this poor woman over.
I expect another article soon about how the uncaring gov't beauracracy is screwing this poor woman over.
TorontoSun wrote:Never in her wildest Christmas dreams did Donna Knapp, a poor but proud single mother of four sons and a breast-cancer survivor with myriad health issues, expect a call one day to tell her that her family would be picked up in a stretch limousine, treated to a fine meal at a posh Italian restaurant, and then be handed a cheque for $10,000 by a group of complete strangers.
But even the wildest Christmas dreams can sometimes come true.
It all goes back to Mother's Day, and a column written here about the Knapp family, and particularly Donna Knapp's 12-year-old son, Cody, that caught the attention of some very remarkable friends.
For this is what Cody did.
About two weeks before Mother's Day, he mailed off his entry for the Happy Mother's Day Contest that was open to all Newmarket-area newspaper carriers connected to either the Era Banner or the Georgina Advocate.
GIFT BASKET FOR MOM
First prize was a gift basket worth $75.
"That's what I would like to win," said the boy. "Not the movie passes. My mom deserves a basket full of nice things."
What Cody Knapp mailed off to the Banner was basically the same letter his Grade 6 teacher at Newmarket's Glen Cedar Public School pulled out of the classroom's "Bug Box" -- the drop box for kids to let the teacher know what's "bugging" them -- and then asked young Cody for his permission to read it to the class.
When the teacher finished, most of the class was in tears.
For this, in part, is what young Cody Knapp wrote.
"My mom is a breast cancer survivor," he began. "She is also a single mom with four sons. My mom goes without a lot of stuff so me and my three brothers can have the best life possible. It must be really hard for her considering how we have to live and what a dentist did to her.
"The dentist was more worried about getting paid for the root canal than finishing the job properly, and my mom wound up in critical condition over the root canal and was hospitalized.
"We live in an extremely bad neighborhood," he continued. "One neighbour threatened to get a gun and shoot my mom. He has spit and sworn at her. He is known to every York regional police officer. My mom has to keep me and my three brothers as safe as possible.
"Due to my mom's health, she can't get a job, meaning we can't move. I have a paper route which my younger brother and mom help me with so we can eat every day. My mom can't even have a break!
"My oldest brother is away in college," he says. "My other older brother is strong so he can protect us, but he is not always here.
"We all have witnessed very violent fights that have included weapons right in front of our home. My mom always tries her best and does a really great job, even though she is always really stressed out and sick.
"My mom deserves this (Mother's Day gift) because of what all she goes through and still manages to make mine and my three brothers lives as best as possible. But it's also unhealthy for us because of all the drugs that are being sold in the neighbourhood.
"My mom is lucky to have four really smart sons, and that is what she says every day. I am trying to write a book so we can get moved out."
And there Cody Knapp's letter ended, with not a word of it a lie.
And, to no one's surprise, it won him the gift basket.
Shortly after that column was published, a Newmarket real estate developer named Kevin Lisso gathered a group of his friends together over dinner, and told them about the Sun story he had just read.
As it was told by one of those friends, Anthony Cina, "A hush fell over the room after Kevin finished his story, and the silence was broken only by the volume of emotion each of us was sharing.
"It was loud and it was clear. We could feel Cody's pain."
It was decided by the group on that day that a poker tournament would be held over a number of weeks, and that it would continue to be held until the house had $10,000 in its kitty to give to the Knapp family.
And this was done unbeknownst to me, and certainly unbeknownst to Donna Knapp and her four sons.
"We wanted to give Cody a chance to present his mother with a $10,000 cheque as the best mother in the world," said Cina.
And these 10 friends, all of them successful in their varied careers, came through in spades.
As it came to pass, seven of them showed up Tuesday night at Rosa's Place at Finch and Hwy. 400 when the limousine pulled up with Donna Knapp and sons Cody, Jesse, 7, Matthew 18, and T.J., 20 -- the white stretch limo courtesy of another friend of the group, Quantum Limousine owner Enzo Quadrini.
'WE NOW FEEL SAFE'
Waiting to greet the Knapps, and show them to their table, were Lisso and Cina, Rosa's owner Robert Turkiewicz, Gord Buck, John Krpan, Sandro Sardellitti and Mario Piacente. Unable to make it were George Chiu, Kwan Cho and Stuart Tidd.
Suffice to say, it was quite the evening.
Donna Knapp and her family, by the by, no longer live in that troubled subsidized housing complex in Newmarket. Instead, they live today in the Mount Albert area where, in Donna Knapp's words, "We now feel safe as a family."
But it comes with a price.
No longer is her rent subsidized, because there was no subsidized housing in the area where she decided to live for the sake of peace of mind -- all which means that almost $1,200 of her monthly $1,600 disability pension goes towards shelter and utilities.
So a sudden and unexpected windfall of $10,000 is God-sent, especially as the Christmas season beckons.
"I have no words that could possibly express my gratitude," she said. "This has given us a Christmas like no other.
"I am overwhelmed, and so very, very thankful."
Comments
Better not tell the cops!! Someone other than the player gained from a poker tournament!! I'm shocked the OPP didn't bust down the doors!
:-p
I hope to see more of this and join in.. Sounds like she has done pretty well without the help for her son to write this letter. and the oldest to be in college and the middle one to help out when he can..
Lets hope, we can all make a difference in someones life this year coming..
I think that's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
But yeah, really great story and thanks for posting it. It really makes you wonder and look at what good can be done for others as long as people are mindful of it. I just hope that there are more stories about these getting out there and that there's a general consensus that poker players aren't just a bunch of shady, selfish and greedy criminals looking for any way to make a quick buck.
I just hope that I can follow these guys example...doesn't have to be via poker, but if its...bonus!
Thats it I couldnt think of the name lol...
The story was very touching, but I can't help feeling that it is a bandaid solution.
/g2
The way I read it, she had already moved out on her own before receiving the 10k.
"No longer is her rent subsidized, because there was no subsidized housing in the area where she decided to live for the sake of peace of mind -- all which means that almost $1,200 of her monthly $1,600 disability pension goes towards shelter and utilities.
So a sudden and unexpected windfall of $10,000 is God-sent, especially as the Christmas season beckons."
No need to be pissed. It doesn't sound to me like this lady will be foolish with the money..
Then top it off and talk about getting the money from a poker tourney where every second subway stop there is a friends4friends.ca sign. Give me a break.
It's great that woman got 10K but really it doesn't need to be broadcasted to the general public so everyone can get a pat on the back. Lets get back to the real issues in the city.
I maintain that there should be a mandatory IQ test and parenting course(s) for those who wish to breed.
You sound like me... You need a license to drive, and a degree to be a doctor, but any 2 yahoos can mate and make a baby..