At Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, we know our community is stronger when we work together.
Community champions who sell lemonade, host golf tournaments, and find other ways to get creative in support of sick and injured kids make a massive difference every single year. In 2022-23, this dedicated group rallied to raise over $1 million to #GiveBetterFutures!
How incredible! Over $1 million when we add up all the proceeds from bake sales, tournaments, BBQs, and more. When I meet these devoted supporters, I am so deeply inspired by their creativity, tenacity and passion.
Our community champions include organizations like GymKyds Gymnastics Centre, where in 2022 the gym team hosted a fundraising event with bear gymnastics, face painting, crafts and more. With over 1,000 kids visiting, this amazing crew raised almost $3,100. And this year they did it again, bringing in a record $7,000 for families in hospital – wow!
There are countless more, like the Pryor Family who put together a superhero-themed social in Crystal City, MB to honour Kellan Pryor, who was born with a rare bone marrow disorder and passed away at four years old after spending much of his life at HSC Children’s.
There are amazing events that happen year after year, like the employee-led BMO Bear’s Paw Golf Tournament that’s in its 32nd year and has raised over $1.5 million since its inception.
And local businesses engage their customers to support families in hospital, like the Popeyes Chicken where a Sandwich Combo promo raised more than $10,000 for specialized tools in the Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at HSC Children’s.
We also have so many #KidsHelpingKids, like Alexis, who made and sold Christmas ornaments; Georgia and her mom, Jenaya, who had a fall pumpkin stand; and the students in Ms. Bacon’s Grade 1/2 class who were awarded funds through a Winnipeg Police Association Cool 2Be Kind grant to purchase books for the HSC Children's Library Program. These young donors all find their own unique ways to make an impact, and we’re so grateful.
And we can’t forget about the longest-running community event in support of sick and injured kids in Manitoba – the Children’s Hospital Book Market, which started in 1961. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Book Market returned to St. Vital Centre in the fall of 2022 with 87 pallets of books, delighting readers and raising over $246,000. Please save the date for the next sale September 15 – 16, 2023.
We truly are so much stronger when we work together, and every dollar counts for sick and injured kids and their families. Every craft sale, event, and fundraising promo helps fund life-saving equipment, leading-edge research at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, and comfort programs like music therapy.
On behalf of the board and all the staff at Children’s Hospital Foundation, I want to say a huge thank you to all the community champions who work together to #GiveBetterFutures!
If you would like to start your own initiative to #GiveBetterFutures please visit goodbear.ca/CommunityChampion.
Stefano Grande is the president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.
