Cougars Bring Christmas Cheer

Wednesday night, the BYU men’s basketball team had the chance to be a part of something special.

The team has already done some really special things this year. Wednesday, however, they didn’t win a game in double-overtime and they didn’t travel across the country to play in an arena full of BYU fans, but they brought Christmas cheer to the families in Utah Valley who have a child fighting cancer. It has become a tradition for the team to take part in the Children with Cancer Christmas Foundation’s annual party.

“This is something that our players really look forward to,” BYU head coach Dave Rose said. “To be here with these families and see the challenges that they are facing but how they look for all the good things in life. Also, they can tell that the support that they give can give these families hope and strength.”

Thirteen years ago the foundation’s founder, Mac Boyter, was inspired by a talk by former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley. He listened as President Hinckley counseled listeners to reach out in their communities and find a way to give back.

A cancer survivor himself and knowing the financial strain the disease can cause on families, Boyter began to wonder how many children there were in Utah Valley currently being treated with cancer. He called Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake and was told that at that moment there were approximately 85 families with a child receiving treatment from Utah Valley.

From there Boyter caught a vision of holding a Christmas party, not only for the children with cancer but their siblings who are also affected by their sibling's sickness. The first party was held at Harmon’s Buick Pontiac GMC, on the dealership’s showroom floor.

Since then the party has grown into what it is today, having helped more than 1,000 families in the last 13 years. The Cougars made their first appearance in the party’s second year. After meeting then-Assistant Coach Dave Rose’s wife, Cheryl, Boyter asked her to serve on the board of the foundation.

“She is an amazing woman,” Boyter said of Cheryl. “With her help, this has really become an amazing thing.”

The foundation collects presents from different spots within Utah Valley and then has parents come in and pick out the presents they would like to give their children. The parents then give the presents to their children at the party. The most popular gift this year was basketballs and the players were more than happy to sign them.

“Obviously this is a great foundation,” Cougar forward Charles Abouo said. “To have the opportunity every year to come here and put a smile on these faces means a lot to us.”

In addition to the team, this year’s party featured Santa Claus, Cosmo, the BYU cheerleaders and Cougarettes. The families enjoyed crafts and games with the players each taking charge of a different station.

“We take who is in charge of what game pretty seriously,” Abouo said. “We call which game we want to be in charge of earlier in the week but it’s a lot of fun and it’s great to be able to do this for the kids that come each year.”

Boyter feels the team really adds to the special experience of the party.

“It’s an amazing thing to watch a 6-foot-7-inch handsome athletic kid down on all fours talking to a kid in a wheelchair,” Boyter said. “It provides some balance for the team because there’s so much drive to win, but this brings some reality.”

The team will travel to Anaheim to take on UCLA in the Wooden Classic this weekend but Rose feels the lesson his team learned at the Christmas party is more valuable than anything they will learn on the court.

“There are a lot of things you try to learn in college,” Rose said. “But this is a great lesson for our players to learn that when you’re serving others, you really help yourself.“