The Hamilton Klown Unit includes Doc, Hendie, buzzB, Opa Jon, Chuckles, Sir Tedley, BamBam and BoBo. There are also guests who come to help out. When permitted they visit the McMaster Childrens Hospital on a monthly basis to put on “Majik” shows for the children. It’s not perfection that they strive for during their shows but to help take the children’s (and their families) minds off of things they are dealing with and to try to coax them into becoming part of the shows. In addition the Klowns participate in parades and other family-oriented events.

The Klowns raise funds for the Shriners Hospital for Children – Canada, in Montreal. Their primary focus is to fund research into Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or Brittle Bone disease. This genetic disorder prevents the building of strong bones, leading to a lifetime of weak bones that break easily. Our funding has enabled a team of researchers and doctors to establish a link in the genetic make-up of children at risk of OI and be able to perform invitro gene splicing to eliminate the disease before birth.

Doctors at the Montreal hospital regularly treat patients with OI including performing surgery to insert steel rods into their legs, giving them the ability to walk. Over the years these rods needed to be lengthened, requiring more surgeries, until Drs Duval and Frazier developed a technology to expand the rods, thus eliminating almost half of the surgeries.