On September 3rd I will be celebrating seven years with Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. On September 3rd, 2003 I remember my first day at PMHF like it was yesterday. I had spent the month of July working as a volunteer at PMH to “learn the ropes, observe the culture and find my way around”. As it turns out, it was the best way I could have spent a month before joining PMH. I witnessed first hand the extraordinary staff, volunteers and patients of PMH. I wore a mask and a plastic visor while working with Barb at the reception desk as it was still during the Sars scare. Neville Kirchmann, Lionel Robins, Bob Bell and so many others helped me in the transition to my new calling. Two weeks in, I walked in the first Weekend to End Breast Cancer and it was literally one of the highlights of my life. So in two weeks time, I will be walking in our all new Weekend to End Women’s Cancers. I am still incredibly inspired, in awe really, of the people, volunteers, walkers, colleagues, community who support PMH. This seven years has absolutely flown by. I have way too many great memories, people I think of, people to thank to start flooding my blog……I just am thinking I am the luckiest guy in the world to be able to have my daily work be in service to one of the world’s great cancer hospitals and research enterprises. Seven years in, this job, these people I work with, this cause….they all just light me up! Have a GREAT Labour Day Weekend. Princess Margaret, to borrow a famous quote…..”YOU MAKE ME WANT TO BE A BETTER MAN!” Thanks for seven extraordinary years!
We just posted our audited 2010 annual statements on our www.pmhf.ca website. Click here to see our latest audited statements hot off the press. We will have our annual report ready by the end of September. We had a great year last year at the Foundation in what was a difficult year for the economy. Our investment returns were way, way up over the year before (happily and thankfully!). Our fundraising net was $70 million before investment income. We have had some changes to the way we report out income and expenses and these changes are outlined in the notes to the statements. For example, our lotteries have big gross revenue numbers associated with them and also have large scale investment in prizes shown as expenses. Lotteries are unique to our social enterprise as we don't provide tax receipts for lottery tickets purchased. We do purchase many gorgeous homes, fully furnished, and luxury cars as well as other prizes that ticket buyers rate as "the best". Our overall administrative costs to fund the work of the Foundation remains just below 10% of net funds raised. We had major grants to the work of PMH and in support of our vision "To Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime". Thanks to our donors, our volunteers, our community of supporters, our amazing board led by our wonderful board Chair Keith Ambachtsheer. We had a very good year last year and we are confident of an even better year this year 2010-11! Again, we are grateful beyond words to our donors, supporters, volunteers, staff, and community.
I can't get 'Sherry' and 'Oh What A night (December 1963)' out of my head after a surprise visit from members of the cast of the immensely popular 'Jersey Boys.'
'Jersey Boys' is the musical chronology of the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the hit-making group that owned the radio airwaves through the 1960s and early-1970s. Sheila and I caught the show at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in North York, and loved it. During the wildly successful two-year run of 'Jersey Boys' in Toronto, the cast was devastated to lose a cast mate. Lindsay Thomas died February 3, 2010 at the age of 31. She had been treated for lung cancer at The Princess Margaret.
With 'Jersey Boys' coming to the end of its run (the show ended August 22), the cast honoured the memory of Lindsay Thomas by soliciting donations at some of their final Toronto shows, and when they stopped by my office today (August 20), they had a cheque for $10,000 and a poster signed by the entire cast of the show. This generous donation, like all funds donated to PMHF, will go to support critical research into helping conquer cancer in our lifetime.
I'm so happy I saw a 'Jersey Boys' performance during its run, but even more pleased at how this wonderful gesture supports the memory of a wonderfully talent performer. Thank you, for both the memories and the donation, 'Jersey Boys'!
We have so many wonderful supporters! This event is a must for boxing fans, Scots, or lovers of beer, beef and Haggis! We benefit greatly from the diversity of events and the amazing volunteers who step forward to “Knock Out Cancer”. The Toronto Cricket Club may never be the same! Check this out and drop in on Sept. 16th for some great boxing for a wonderful cause. Click here for details:
Please check out the link below and the invitation to anyone who has done the Ride to Conquer Cancer or has been a volunteer at the ride. Will be a great night and a special night for anyone who has contributed to this incredible event! Hope you can make this!
Click Here to see the invitation
At the UICC conference in China, a report is being released from the American Cancer Society that reveals that “Cancer is the world’s top economic killer as well as the leading cause of death globally”. All of us who have dealt with cancer know the enormous personal and human cost of cancer. This new study reveals the extraordinary economic cost of cancer. Cancer is an enormous health issue globally and its encouraging the focus is beginning to be put on this disease by the international health community. Please open the link below and read the short summary of the report for yourself. The world is “under invested” in all aspects of cancer control--- from prevention and early detection to treatment and cure based research.
Lots of excitement this week around the news that Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have commitments from nearly 50 Billionaires to give at least half of their net worth to a charity of their choosing. Bill and Melinda Gates have truly distinguished themselves as a “Superpower” of global philanthropy. The Gates Foundation attracted the support of famous investor Warren Buffet and he committed billions to the Gates Foundation. This is a milestone in the evolution of “social enterprise”. the old model of “not-for-profit” is evolving into a more sophisticated and successful model we at PMHF call “Social Enterprise”. Social Enterprise is basically running a cause more “like a business but with a social outcome”. This social enterprise sector is larger than the oil and gas sector in Canada! Social Enterprise is the answer to what government can’t fix and business won’t fix! But you don’t need to be a billionaire to be involved in social enterprise. Someone with a cause and a commitment and time to volunteer or $50 to donate can become a “social entrepreneur” and make a contribution to a “social enterprise”.
So congrats to Bill and Warren and the billionaires club for stepping forward in this new era of social philanthropy. It is encouraging that some of the world’s wealthiest and most successful people see their responsibility and opportunity to truly “make a difference”. Way to go Bill and Warren and Melinda and billionaires who have signed up to make a difference! Remember, you don’t need to be a billionaire to “make a difference”!
As I do my training walks for the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers this weekend I will be smiling thinking of all that dough going to worthy causes!
Last night was a celebration of hope and commitment to “Walk the Walk”. Jurgen Schreiber, CEO of Shoppers Drug Mart and his team including Mary-Alice, Lisa and about 300 other staff, crowded the seventh floor of PMH and had a wonderous fundraiser. The SDM folks set up the entire event which included massage stations, manicure stations, magic, golf, silent auction and great food. The MC was a professional comedian and a gold medal Olympian spoke about her wish to be a Ninja! Dr. Tak Mak spoke about his progress with the funds raised through the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers. It was just a first class event from one of Canada’s most successful and significant corporations. Shoppers staff have a heart and soul as big as Canada. Their support and leadership for the Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers is spectacular. Jurgen is a board member of the PMHF board and although he is one of the busiest and most successful executives of any company in Canada, he nevers misses and opportunity to help us with our cause and our ambition and our passion- To Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime. The Walk is only 6 weeks away and we are getting ready for the best walk EVER! Thanks Jurgen and Thanks Shoppers Drug Mart! Walk the Walk indeed!
The four Rides are now complete and have raised a record $40 million this year! The Quebec ride just wrapped up and every market (Quebec, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver) had a record event. This is an extraordinary accomplishment and we are so grateful to our riders, donors, volunteers, and sponsors. We are also grateful to our amazing and committed partners in the Ride from BC Cancer, Alberta Cancer, Jewish General and, of course, The Campbell Family Institute at PMH. Hats off and thanks to Brian, Patrick, Chad, Carrie and all at CauseForce for a job very well done. This ride provides a very large and hopefully sustainable pool of funding for the best research and clinical practices in this country for cancer patients. The name of the Ride says it all…..The Ride to Conquer Cancer. This ride is populated by warriors! To our fine board of directors, staff, volunteers, and especially to all the riders who jumped on their bikes and rode…..you are changing the face of cancer research and care in this country and are an example to the world! Steve and Chrisitine, you two rock my world way more than Lance! We are checking but think this total of $40 million gross revenue is a world record for a cycling fundraiser. Take a look at the stats below:
The last rider has finished the trek to Quebec City and the results are in:
Quebec Ride grew from $5.7 million to $6.7 million. (1848 riders)
Alberta went from $6.9 to $7.3 (1888 riders)
And the BC Ride had the biggest increase from $6.9 to $9.2. (2300 riders)
Grand total in 2009 including PMHF Ride = $34 million
New Grand total for Canada 2010 = $39.3 million
After all the 'trickle' in donations we will collectively exceed $40 million in gross revenue for the Canadian Ride to Conquer Cancer!
A thing of beauty and a collective achievement we can take some Canadian pride in!
The Joe’s Team sprint triathalon is coming up this weekend on beautiful Lake Joe. Joe Finley, his wife Cara, and family and friends launched an amazing event which is just one of the best of the year! Joe Finley is an inspired and inspirational person. He is a leader and a builder and a remarkable person. With the support and help of his incredible family he has built Joe’s Team into a $1 million fund raiser. Joe’s Team also makes people stretch, push themselves out of their comfort zone, really step out. The beautiful CNIB camp is the base of operations for the event (and we are grateful to the CNIB!). There is a team called affectionately “The Blind Guys” who participate with a seeing partner and blast through on their tandem bikes! There are so many personal stories, brave efforts, big support, and positive mojo going on. The event starts Friday with registration, bike drop, saying hello to old friends and new ones. Saturday morning the Tri goes and it looks like a warm, sunny, amazing day coming up! Saturday night Jim Cuddy band plays and a BBQ and some cold beer is shared by participants. We are so fortunate to have leaders like Joe and Cara Finley, we are grateful for the fund raising and especially for the inspiration! Go Joe! Go Joe’s Team!