Mississauga, ON - It only takes seconds for a life to change. Professional hockey player Jason Baird and his family discovered that this summer when the lawnmower he was riding exploded, engulfing him in flames. This father of three had taken a landscaping job in the off-season to help pay the bills. Jason suffered third-degree burns to more than 60% of his body. As fate would have it, just months earlier, Jason had reconnected with his former ‘hockey mom', Linda Pinizzotto, a REALTOR® at Sutton Group - Quantum Realty Inc.*. Linda billeted Jason at her home in Mississauga when he was a teenager playing minor league hockey with her son. Now Linda is on a mission.

"I set up the Jason Baird Family Trust Fund to help with his medical bills and his family," says Linda. "I am also happy to report that the Running Room agreed to organize a benefit walk/run on December 3rd in Mississauga. However, a challenge was finding an organization that would allow us to use their charitable number on such short notice. I was relieved when St. Patrick Catholic Church lent us their number. The church is in Cayuga, Ontario, which is Jason's hometown. To find out more about the Trust and the Jason Baird Walk or Run, please visit: www.lindarealestate.ca or www.jasonbaird.ca."

When he was 14 to 16-years old, Jason came to Mississauga to play hockey on the same team as Linda's son and billeted with her family. After high school, Jason was drafted by the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, to play professionally in the Central Hockey League (CHL). Just a few months before the lawnmower accident in July 2008, Jason contacted Linda on Facebook to share his happy news. "Jason was thrilled to tell me about his family," says Linda. "He recently had a daughter with his new wife and adopted her two children ages nine and 12." He had just finished his sixth year in the CHL and for the past four years was playing for Corpus Christi. Jason also recently formed Baird's Bunch, a local non-profit organization benefiting at-risk youths. Linda hopes people will open their hearts to Jason, as he has to so many during his young life.

After spending months in the Hospital Burn Center in Akron, Ohio, the 27-year-old is now in stable condition. He is expected to undergo multiple surgeries in the coming months. When the accident occurred, a tenant in the apartment complex called 911; doctors say that if help had arrived even a few minutes later, Jason would have died.

Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 9,000 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.

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