George Chuvalo

George Chuvalo was born September 12, 1937 in Toronto Ontario. George is a famous Canadian heavyweight boxer. His boxing career lasted twenty-one strong years and during that period he fought some of the best boxers, George retired from boxing in 1979 and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1990. George also appeared in numerous movies, TV shows and commercials. During his life, nothing could prepare him for what he would endure: the deaths of three sons and a wife due to drug abuse.

George first lost one son to suicide, when he could not handle his addiction and shot himself. He lost another son to a drug overdose of heroin. His wife couldn't handle the deaths of her sons, so she took her own life, overdosing on pills. And Finally, George lost another son, Steven, also to an overdose.

Before Steven's death, the father and son had planned to begin an anti-drug crusade. George carried on with this crusade and through Fight Against Drugs he is able to cope by helping others while sharing some of what he has learned about life. Since then, George has re-married and still manages to find joy in the lives of his daughter Vanessa, his eldest son Mitchell, and his grandchildren. He gives talks to students, parents and other groups about drug awareness and how drugs have impacted his life. George has the insight and wisdom required to catch the attention of any listener.

George Chuvalo is helpful and values other people. He spends time helping drug addicted youths and spreading awareness to other youths all over the world. He is consistent and very dedicated to this program, seeing that it serves as a reminder that no family is safe from such a demon. George values the lives of youths everywhere and wants them to live a safe and drug free life. He has been to over 300 schools, many detention centers, and also met with parent support groups. He gets his message through to people by telling what he has witnessed as a parent. He leaves the students and other groups with a message of hope for the future.

In showing his strong will and emotional strength, instead of being depressed and in turning his losses into something negative, he chose to lead a happy life. The tragic deaths of his family members to opened his eyes. Every time he tells a story, he feels sick to his stomach. It hurts him to talk about his sons that way, his beautiful sons. He states that if they were here, they would want to tell kids and adults what it is like to be a dope fiend. It's a very apt name, "dope fiend" as that is what you are if you take drugs--a fiend. The drugs make you do things you would never think of doing otherwise. The feedback he receives has been positive, appreciated and encouraging. George gives hope to drug-addicted teens and their families and also de-glamorizes drug use.

George Chuvalo shows his imperfection by being honest and getting the message across that this could happen to any family and that no one is safe from this demon called drug abuse. He takes the mistakes and lessons that he has learned from this tragedy and turns them into positive power. He shows that something positive can come out of something negative. From being top in the boxing world to the devastating lows that came from losing a wife and sons to drug abuse, George Chuvalo has seen it all. Where such tragedy would have knocked a punch out of many people, he is still standing.

Every living person needs love as this makes you feel strong, secure and appreciated. The most important three words in life are "I love you". He urges that we say these three words to our family, not just today, not just tomorrow, but every day of our lives. He voluntarily gives up not only his private life but also a lot of his time and energy in fulfilling his dream and purpose to help others. The sense of love is the only thing that keeps him going.

To me George Chuvalo is a true hero. He has dealt with the deaths of four family members from substance abuse and he took these tragedies as a life lesson. He wants to help drug addicted youths, and for doing that I honor him greatly; I myself know what it is like to have a drug addicted family member. What George can do for some people is life changing. Anyone who gets the opportunity to listen to what George has to say should take that opportunity and cherish his words because they are very powerful and encouraging. His words of wisdom stick with you forever and can be such a great impact on anyone's life.