Gavin’s superpower is his ability to enjoy life and share that joy with others. It would be tough to find an ultimate player in Ontario or Quebec who doesn’t know the name “Gavin Thompson.” Not because of his talent, although he handles himself well on the field, and not because of his treasure chest of outrageous outfits he brings for tournament parties, but because of his unspoken mission to share his love of the game with everyone. Over the years, he has spread the spirit of the game to hundreds of players in Ottawa as a founding captain of Bigfish. He then became a player-coach for Wreckhouse, a touring team based in St. John’s, N.L. (He didn’t actually move to St. John’s, he just sent his ultimate self there.)

Over the past year, Gavin has turned his enthusiasm to discount shopping for charities, and hundreds of his friends have responded to this shift by eagerly reading his frugalitiness blog about purchasing baby food or hair product at 10% of regular price (that’s 10% of—not 10% off) and donating it to charities. In less than a month, Gavin’s enthusiasm for this new hobby motivated his friends to donate $2,300, which he used to purchase (and donate) $16,788.90 in goods.

I think I speak for all of Gavin’s followers when I say I’m excited to see how big that number can get over the course of a year! Follow along at Boom! Savings! Charity Shopping Club.

By Elsbeth Vaino (words), Ottawa, Ontario & Geneviève Daigle (illustration), Toronto, Ontario