Ever since six-year-old Leo Knott took warmups with the Sydney Academy boys’ hockey team, community support has poured in for the Glace Bay, N.S., boy battling cancer.
Knott lives with Langerhans Cell Hystiocytosis -- or LCH.
He is about to begin a second round of treatments and chemotherapy. His family says it could mean as many as 20 trips back and forth to hospital in Halifax.
Recently, the Sydney Academy team invited Knott to skate with them during warmups and proceeds from all high school hockey playoff games will go to his family to help pay for treatment-related expenses.
"They always say, ‘It takes a village,’ and I do believe that this is one of those cases right here,” said Angie MacDonald, a board member for the major bantam Cape Breton Cougars.
The hockey community has stepped up again to support the movement, which has become known as Team Leo.
Knott’s grandfather, Graham Quinn, is president of the Cougars.
Their final weekend of the season will include a fundraising game this Saturday when they host Truro at the Northside Emera Centre.
"(There will be fundraisers) like a chuck-a-puck, a bake sale,” MacDonald said. “They're also going to be selling tickets on a Yeti package, which is worth quite a bit… 100 per cent of the proceeds will be going to Leo - who is an honourary Cougar."
Last weekend, when the Cougars were on the road, even their opponents drummed up quite a bit of money.
"The New Scotland Storm, based out of Cole Harbour, donated all of their even-split money, plus any donations they collected at the door,” MacDonald said. “And then a company from Halifax called PermaDry - basement renovations - matched that, so it ended up being that $1,530 was raised."
The Sydney-based Caleb's Courage movement was created to help kids like Leo Knott.
Now, the charity will help his family with expenses.
Nicole and Mike MacArthur, who founded Caleb’s Courage in memory of their son Caleb MacArthur, have also become friends with Leo's family and have been in regular contact.
They plan to make Leo the guest of honour at their annual Superhero Walk, Run & Fly in September.
"We're going to be behind them ourselves, and through Caleb's Courage, every step of the way,” said Nicole MacArthur. "They have the entire island behind them right now. They're there to support them in any way that they can, and I think that that's so uplifting and it's so important to have that support system in place."
For even more moral support, there's Molly's Mission.
That movement was created last year, when 12-year-old Molly Wadden of Victoria Mines, N.S., fought a form of bone cancer called Ewing Sarcoma.
She spent months raising funds and awareness for childhood illness before she passed away in July 2022.
Wadden's father says even though he doesn't know the Knott family well, Leo's moment in the spotlight last week warmed his heart.
He adds that Molly’s Mission will help the family in conjunction with the Caleb’s Courage movement.
"As parents, we understand just how devastating that is,” Jeff Wadden said. "We went out the other night, onto the ice, and saw him skating around getting the support and a round of applause from the people in the crowd. You couldn't be more proud to be from Cape Breton."
Island Martial Arts Centre locations across Cape Breton Regional Municipality, where Knott once took taekwondo classes, will also take up collections for the family.
