A simple pencil sketch, drawn after back-to-back tragedies for Canadians, is being put toward a good cause.
DEBRA Canada, the charity championed by local teen Jonathan Pitre, is selling the drawing of the Humboldt Broncos players asking the Butterfly Boy if he plays hockey.
It was a sketch done in the moment by Kanata artist Kerry MacGregor, and went viral online.
"Jonathan Pitre did an amazing thing in opening his heart and story to the world. Although I'm originally from Ottawa, I live in France. And still, I was able to follow this extraordinary teenager's journey with EB from afar," MacGregor says in a statement on DEBRA's website. "It was a very sad day when we learned that Jonathan had passed away. And then when the Humboldt Broncos' crash happened shortly after, it was hard not to think about those two stories at the same time."
Pitre's death was announced just hours before the bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos hockey team crashed in Saskatoon, killing 16 people.
"When I first posted this drawing online, I was scared that I was too far away to join the conversation that was unfolding across Canada," MacGregor said. "But then, as it was shared around the internet, it felt as though it had taken on a different life -- it had become part of a moving wave."
DEBRA Canada is a voluntary, registered, non-profit organization dedicated to providing support for families affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) and to increasing Canadians' awareness of this challenging disease.