MSF News & Events

Upcoming Events & Fundraisers:

Breck Scaffold Run for Mandi

August 25, 2019

Register and Get Involved Here! 

Golfer Billy Walthouse announces partnership with Mandi Schwartz Foundation for 2019 Season

American golfer Billy Walthouse and the Mandi Schwartz Foundation are pleased to announce a partnership for the 2019 Canadian Mackenzie Tour.  Walthouse qualified for the Mackenzie Tour this spring at the Ponte Verde, Florida Qualifier and is in his first full season on the Canadian tour.

In his junior year at the University of Rhode Island, shortly after his grandparents attended Yale’s University’s “White out for Mandi”, Walthouse participated in cheek swab on the URI Campus.  Later that year he got a phone call that he was a possible donor match.  The second call never came to let him know that he was a definitive match, but the experience led him to want to be part of the team promoting the Mandi Schwartz Foundation.

Walthouse said, “I have seen the amazing legacy that the Mandi Schwartz foundation is creating everyday by saving lives through stem cell matching.  My family has long been supporters of Mandi and the entire Schwartz family. I am extremely honored to wear the logo and help promote the cause.  I am from a large hockey family and I love the culture of the entire hockey community, especially in Canada.”

On select days throughout the season, Walthouse will be wearing a combination of the Mandi Schwartz Foundation logo as well as a custom logo designed by Black Helicopter Creative.  The second logo was created for St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen to wear in honor of Mandi and the work that her foundation has accomplished.  The logo is also a nod to the Schwartz family’s history with the legendary Notre Dame Hounds.  Mandi’s brother Jaden plays for the St. Louis Blues and currently has 13 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Her other brother, Rylan is a professional hockey player in Germany for the Bremerhaven Penquins.

Carol Schwartz commented, “ We are so happy to have Billy promoting Mandi’s foundation and stem cell matching across Canada this summer.” Rick Schwartz said, “I am really happy to have Billy doing this and it will be fun to follow him this summer while the boys hockey seasons are over.”

Mandi Schwartz was a Canadian hockey player that played hockey for Athol Murray Notre Dame in Saskatchewan and Yale University.  She lost her battle with leukemia in 2011.  In Mandi’s memory, a teammate created the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. Every year, it hosts bone marrow drives, where people can get swabbed and added to the registry, in hopes of being someone’s perfect match.  Since the foundation launched, there’s been 57 matches from 7,000 people who registered, arguably making it one of the most successful medical campaigns of its kind.

Billy Walthouse is a 23 year old American golfer from Longmeadow, Massachusetts.  He played his collegiate golf at the University of Rhode Island.  Walthouse recently made it through the first round of the US Open qualification and moves on to Sectionals on June 3 from which he hopes to play at Pebble Beach.

For further information, please email bwalthouse4@gmail.com.

NHL’s St. Louis Blues Headed to Ingalls Rink Friday Jan. 24 for “White Out for Mandi”

The Yale women's ice hockey team hosts its annual White Out for Mandi at Ingalls Rink on Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 in memory of Mandi Schwartz '10 (1988-2011). Mandi's brother Jaden and his teammates with the NHL's St. Louis Blues are scheduled to attend.

Bulldogs Hope to Pack Rink with Fans Wearing White; Event is Fundraiser for Mandi Schwartz Foundation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women’s ice hockey team is getting a big assist in its efforts to honor the memory of Mandi Schwartz ’10 (1988-2011) at the annual “White Out for Mandi” game at Ingalls Rink on Friday, Jan. 24. When the NHL’s St. Louis Blues found out about the event through Mandi’s brother Jaden Schwartz — a forward who is in his third season with the Blues — they decided to show their support by having the entire team attend the game with Jaden that night (7:00 p.m. vs. Brown). The goal is to pack Ingalls Rink, with everyone wearing white, as a “White Out for Mandi”. The event is a fundraiser for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation.

To accommodate the trip to the Yale women’s ice hockey game on Jan. 24, the Blues have moved their practice that afternoon to Ingalls Rink. The practice starts at 3:00 p.m. and will be open to the general public.

“Our family was very deeply touched when we heard that the Blues organization committed to attending the White Out for Mandi and was also moving their practice to Ingalls Rink,” said Carol Schwartz, Mandi’s mother, who will attend the game along with Mandi’s father, Rick Schwartz. “We would especially like to thank Blues president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong, head coach Ken Hitchcockand all Jaden’s teammates for supporting this great event in honor of Mandi.”

St. Louis selected Jaden in the first round of the 2010 draft, when Mandi was still battling cancer. The Blues have been a key source of support for the Schwartz family ever since, and even had then-president John Davidson attend Mandi’s memorial service at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in her home town of Wilcox, Saskatchewan, in April of 2011.

“I think this commitment to attend the White Out for Mandi speaks volumes about the depth of the Blues organization,” said Carol Schwartz. “This is a true reflection of the heart and soul of the Blues family — a family that drafted Jaden knowing full well that during the draft Jaden’s heart, mind and soul were in the midst of the greatest tragedy he would probably ever face. A family that stood by him, that supported him throughout, that provided him with opportunities when the time was right and now a family that will stand by him as he for the first time walks into Ingalls Rink and skates in the arena that his sister Mandi so loved and cherished.”

The Schwartzes have maintained their connection to the Yale women’s ice hockey program, and the Yale team has kept Mandi’s jersey and locker intact in the locker room at Ingalls Rink. Another one of Mandi’s game-worn jerseys was recently given by the Schwartzes to the Upper Deck sports card company, which has created special Mandi Schwartz hockey cards containing a piece of the jersey for its “Heroic Inspirations” series. Those cards will be available for purchase at the “White Out for Mandi”.

“I know Jaden is looking forward to meeting Mandi’s fellow teammates, coaches and friends at Yale and to spending time in her Yale community,” said Carol Schwartz. “It’s going to a very special day, a day of great honor to Mandi, a great game and a very meaningful launch of her inspirational hockey card. I can see her beautiful smile and feel her pride as her spirit fills Ingalls on Jan. 24.”

The Blues — the team that Keith Allain ’80, Yale’s Malcolm G. Chace Head Coach of Men’s Ice Hockey worked for as goaltending coach from 1998 to 2006 — will be in the New Haven area because they play at the New York Rangers on Thursday Jan. 23 and at the New York Islanders on Saturday Jan. 25.

In addition to Jaden, the Blues’ roster includes U.S. Olympians David Backes, T. J. Oshie and Kevin Shattenkirk; Canadian Olympians Jay Bouwmeesterand Alex Pietrangelo; Czech Republic Olympian Vladimir Sobotka; Russian Olympian Vladimir Tarasenko; Slovakian Olympian Jaroslav Halak; and Swedish Olympians Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen.

This is the second season in a row that there has been an NHL presence at the “White Out for Mandi”. Last year, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subbanattended the game just prior to signing a new contract with Montreal.

Aleca Hughes ’12, Yale’s former captain, started the Mandi Schwartz Foundation in memory of Mandi, the Bulldogs center who passed away in April 2011 after battling cancer for more than two years. Donations to the Mandi Schwartz Foundation will be accepted at the door on Jan. 24. Special white sweatshirts are being sold, and youth hockey teams are encouraged to come wearing white jerseys. Additional details about the day, including auction items, will be announced in the near future.

In addition to raising funds for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation, the event will also help raise awareness of the need for marrow donors and umbilical cord blood donors. In an effort to save her life in the fall of 2010, Mandi had a stem cell transplant utilizing blood from two anonymous umbilical cord blood donations. Stem cells for patients with life-threatening illnesses like Mandi’s can also come from marrow donors. Yale hosts an annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive every spring to add potential donors to the Be The Match® Registry. To date, at least 21 donor matches for patients in need of transplants have been identified through those efforts. One of those donor matches was a Yale football player, senior John Oppenheimer.

The attendance record for a women’s hockey game at Ingalls Rink is 1,539, set on Nov. 1, 2005, when Team USA played an exhibition game against the ECAC Hockey All-Stars. The capacity of Ingalls Rink is 3,500.

Report by Sam Rubin ’95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity

Yale to Host “White Out for Mandi” Hockey Game at Ingalls Rink Friday, Jan. 24

Bulldogs Hope to Pack Rink as Fundraiser for Mandi Schwartz Foundation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women’s ice hockey team is dedicating its game at Ingalls Rink on Friday, Jan. 24, to Mandi Schwartz ’10 (1988-2011), utilizing the game vs. Brown at 7:00 p.m. that night as a fundraiser for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. The goal is to pack Ingalls Rink, with everyone wearing white, as a “White Out for Mandi” show of support.

Donations to the Foundation will be accepted at the door. Special white t-shirts will be sold, and youth hockey teams are encouraged to come wearing white jerseys. Additional details about the day, including auction items and special guests, will be announced in the near future.

Aleca Hughes ’12, Yale’s former captain, started the Mandi Schwartz Foundation in memory of Mandi, the Bulldogs center who passed away in April 2011 after battling cancer for more than two years.

In addition to raising funds for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation, the event will also help raise awareness of the need for marrow donors and umbilical cord blood donors. In an effort to save her life, Mandi had a stem cell transplant utilizing blood from two anonymous umbilical cord blood donations. Stem cells for patients with life-threatening illnesses like Mandi’s can also come from marrow donors. Yale hosts an annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive every spring to add potential donors to the Be The Match® Registry. To date, at least 20 matches for patients in need of transplants have been identified through those efforts. One of those genetic matches was a Yale football player, senior John Oppenheimer.

The attendance record for a women’s hockey game at Ingalls Rink is 1,539, set on Nov. 1, 2005, when Team USA played an exhibition game against the ECAC Hockey All-Stars. The first “White Out for Mandi” drew a crowd of 1,066, the largest crowd in history for a Yale women’s hockey game. The capacity of Ingalls Rink is 3,500.

Report by Sam Rubin ’95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity

Former Yale Hockey Star Mandi Schwartz is Honored by Upper Deck with a ‘Heroic Inspirations’ Game-Worn Jersey Card

Carlsbad, CA (December 11, 2013) – As collectors studied the 2013-14 NHL® Upper Deck Series One checklist they saw the name of a hockey player that never played one game in the NHL®. Upper Deck staff had been working closely with the family of Mandi Schwartz and the Yale Athletic Department to create a unique collectible as a way of honoring the former Yale Hockey star while also creating awareness for her charitable organization the Mandi Schwartz Foundation (www.mandi17.org) Schwartz will appear in the game-worn jersey and game-worn patch sets for the company’s flagship release which is available in stores now.

“Mandi’s name kept coming up as we talked internally about finding an inspirational hockey athlete to honor with a trading card,” said Chris Carlin, Upper Deck’s sports marketing manager. “Mandi Schwartz is certainly not the prototypical hockey player that appears on Upper Deck’s hockey cards, but that’s what makes her inclusion in a mainstream set like this so great because she is so different. As we found out more and more about Mandi’s story, everyone in the building began to draw inspiration from her and we became very excited about this project. A player like Mandi deserves a trading card and the one we created is very special.”

What makes these cards so special of course is that they contain actual swatches from one of Mandi Schwartz’s game-worn jerseys. Mandi’s parents donated the blue Yale jersey to help bring these unique collectibles to life. Upper Deck intentionally short printed the game-worn jersey cards available in packs however and is making the lion’s share of them available to be sold through The Mandi Schwartz Foundation. The game-patch cards can only be found in packs and are limited to just 15 total copies.

“It certainly means the world to us that Mandi’s legacy will be carried on by Upper Deck creating this special card,” said Carol Schwartz, Mandi’s mother. “Mandi has always been a tremendous example of commitment and dedication for student athletes, especially for those who play hockey. I can think of no more fitting tribute to her than that of sharing her passion for hockey and life with her very own Upper Deck card. It is our hope the card will inspire people from all walks of life to learn about her story – the story of a good hearted, generous and hardworking girl from Saskatchewan who remained incredibly positive throughout her battle with cancer (acute myeloid leukemia). She inspired her own little army of all that knew her to help raise awareness of the world need for marrow donors, cord blood donors and blood donations.”

“Mandi was a hockey player and a motivational teammate, but more than that, she was an exceptional person,” said Aleca Hughes, former teammate and co-founder of the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. “Her character was fundamentally kind and compassionate, and for that reason, Mandi’s story has transcended beyond the hockey community and those who had the pleasure of knowing her. Mandi’s legacy continues to inspire humanity and we hope her Upper Deck card will remind athletes and sports fans the responsibility we all have to give back.”

Mandi was initially diagnosed with cancer in December 2008, during her junior year at Yale. After treatment put her in remission, she returned to school in January of 2010 and was planning to play hockey again, but relapsed. She passed away at home in Saskatchewan in April of 2011 at the age of 23.

“Mandi Schwartz has remained an important part of the Yale family and the source of continued inspiration for the Yale Bulldogs women’s hockey team,” said Sam Rubin, Assistant Director of Yale Sports Publicity. “Each year Yale runs a Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive in the spring to add potential donors to the The Match® Registry. Yale continues to host an annual ‘White Out’ game where we encourage fans wearing white to pack Ingalls Rink to show support for Mandi. It is a fundraiser and this year it will take place on Friday, January 24. Donations to the foundation will be accepted at the door. I’m sure the foundation will also be selling these special cards at the event.”

The Mandi Schwartz Foundation will be releasing details on how fans can purchase these limited-edition collectibles in the coming weeks. In the meantime, Upper Deck encourages everyone to check out the official Mandi Schwartz Foundation website, to follow the Schwartz Foundation on Twitter and to like the Schwartz Foundation Facebook page. Together we hope we can help save lives by creating awareness for Mandi’s cause and the need for donors throughout the world.

About Upper Deck

Upper Deck is the leading sports and entertainment trading card and collectibles company. For more information on Upper Deck and its products please visit www.upperdeck.com.

About The Mandi Schwartz Foundation

The Mandi Schwartz Foundation is a registered 501 (c) (3) organization that was founded by Mandi Schwartz’s family and friends as a way of continuing her legacy by helping others in her name. For more information on the Mandi Schwartz Foundation, please visit www.mandi17.org

About Yale University

Yale University comprises three major academic components: Yale College (the undergraduate program), the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the professional schools. In addition, Yale encompasses a wide array of centers and programs, libraries, museums, and administrative support offices. Approximately 11,250 students attend Yale. For more information on Yale University, please visit www.yale.edu

Yale to Host “White Out for Mandi” Hockey Game at Ingalls Rink Saturday, Jan. 26

No Admission Charge; Bulldogs Hope to Pack Rink as Fundraiser for Mandi Schwartz Foundation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Yale women’s ice hockey team is dedicating its game at Ingalls Rink on Saturday, Jan. 26, to Mandi Schwartz ’10 (1988-2011), utilizing the game vs. Colgate as a fundraiser for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. Aleca Hughes ’12, Yale’s former captain, started the charity in memory of Mandi, the Bulldogs center who passed away in April 2011 after battling cancer for more than two years. The goal is to pack Ingalls Rink, with everyone wearing white, as a “White Out for Mandi” show of support.

The team is currently lining up pledges from donors based on the attendance total, so each person that shows up helps raise money for the cause. No admission will be charged, and donations for the Foundation will also be accepted at the door. Special white t-shirts will be sold, and youth hockey teams are encouraged to come wearing white jerseys. The Bulldogs will honor Mandi in a special pre-game ceremony.

The event will also help raise awareness of the need for marrow donors and umbilical cord blood donors. In an effort to save her life, Mandi had a stem cell transplant utilizing blood from two anonymous umbilical cord blood donations. Stem cells for patients with life-threatening illnesses like Mandi’s can also come from marrow donors. Yale hosts an annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive every spring to add potential donors to the Be The Match® Registry. To date, at least 14 matches for patients in need of transplants have been identified through those efforts. One of those matches was a Yale field hockey player, senior Lexy Adams.

The attendance record for a women’s hockey game at Ingalls Rink is 1,539, set on Nov. 1, 2005, when Team USA played an exhibition game against the ECAC Hockey All-Stars. The first “White Out for Mandi” drew a crowd of 1,066, the most ever for a Yale women’s hockey game. The capacity of Ingalls Rink is 3,500.

The weekend of Jan. 25-26 is also Alumnae Weekend at Ingalls Rink.

Report by Sam Rubin ’95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity

white out

Schwartz Family to Present Mandi Schwartz Award at “White Out for Mandi” Saturday, Jan. 26

No Admission Charge; Bulldogs Hope to Pack Ingalls Rink as Fundraiser for Mandi Schwartz Foundation

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The “White Out for Mandi” Yale women’s ice hockey game at Ingalls Rink on Saturday, Jan. 26, will include a special presentation. Carol and Rick Schwartz, parents of Mandi Schwartz ’10 (1988-2011), will travel to the game from their home in Wilcox, Sask., to present ECAC Hockey’s Mandi Schwartz Award, given annually to the conference’s student-athlete of the year. The award winner, announced at the conclusion of last season, is Yale’s Aleca Hughes ’12.

The “White Out for Mandi” game vs. Colgate at 4:00 p.m. is a fundraiser for the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. Hughes, Yale’s former captain, started the charity in memory of Mandi, the Bulldogs center who passed away in April 2011 after battling cancer for more than two years. The goal is to pack Ingalls Rink, with everyone wearing white, as a “White Out for Mandi” show of support.

The team is currently lining up pledges from donors based on the attendance total, so each person that shows up helps raise money for the cause. No admission will be charged, and donations for the Foundation will also be accepted at the door. Special white t-shirts will be sold, and youth hockey teams are encouraged to come wearing white jerseys. The Bulldogs will honor Mandi in a special pre-game ceremony.

The event will also help raise awareness of the need for marrow donors and umbilical cord blood donors. In an effort to save her life, Mandi had a stem cell transplant utilizing blood from two anonymous umbilical cord blood donations. Stem cells for patients with life-threatening illnesses like Mandi’s can also come from marrow donors. Yale hosts an annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive every spring to add potential donors to the Be The Match® Registry. To date, at least 14 matches for patients in need of transplants have been identified through those efforts. One of those matches was a Yale field hockey player, senior Lexy Adams.

The attendance record for a women’s hockey game at Ingalls Rink is 1,539, set on Nov. 1, 2005, when Team USA played an exhibition game against the ECAC Hockey All-Stars. The first “White Out for Mandi” drew a crowd of 1,066, the most ever for a Yale women’s hockey game. The capacity of Ingalls Rink is 3,500.

The weekend of Jan. 25-26 is also Alumnae Weekend at Ingalls Rink.

Report by Sam Rubin ’95 (sam.rubin@yale.edu), Yale Sports Publicity

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *