I can remember quite vividly going to the movies to see Bo Derek in ’10’ back in 1979. And while I can’t remember much about the film, I do recall that that was the era of rating people: “I went out with a girl who was an 8.5,” or, “My new boyfriend is an absolute 10.”

That concept has long faded along with much of the superficiality of the era. But, we’ve resurrected the ‘10’ concept at The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in conjunction with our Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend To End Women’s Cancers.

‘I’M A 10’ reflects two things: we’re celebrating 10 years strong – the 10^th anniversary of our landmark Weekend To End Women’s Cancers -- as well as the beauty, both internal and external, exhibited by our participants.

You’ll start seeing our ‘I’M A 10’ campaign everywhere – television, bus shelters, brochures and banners.  If you’re driving past the hospital on University, you won’t be able to miss Mehre Zuckerman’s smiling face on the banner that adorns The Princess Margaret. Mehre is a survivor and a longtime participant in The Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend To End Women’s Cancers. At various locations in the city, I have also seen the smiling faces of Audrey Loeb, who initiated The Weekend To End Women’s Cancers in 2003, Chad Cieslik, our event ironman, and Vicki Fiddler, who will be participating in her 10^th Walk – all 10’s for their roles in The Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend To End Women’s Cancers.  

We’re celebrating 10 years strong in 2012 and we need you when we take to the streets, united in one ground-breaking movement to advance Personalized Cancer Medicine and end all women’s cancers. Will you join us and BE A 10 in 2012?

I’m really looking forward to walking in my 10^th Weekend To End Women’s Cancers (and its earlier incarnation, The Weekend To End Breast Cancer) this year, so I’M A 10, too! Just don’t expect to see me with braided hair like that other ’10,’ Bo Derek.

Visit www.ima10.ca for more info and to see some great stories.

Last Sunday, November 20^th, approximately 250 veterans and supporters of The Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers gathered at the event space at Steam Whistle Brewery.  The founders and staff of Steam Whistle have been remarkably generous supporters of our Weekend to End Women’s Cancers event which is moving into its 10^th year in 2012.  The picture is of my wife Sheila, who has walked the walk every year, and my daughter Sarah, who is home from Boston and also has been a regular walker.  The story of the founding of Steam Whistle by “three fired guys” and their dedication “to do one thing really, really well” makes this a great Passion Capital story.  Of course, every one of the 4,000 plus walkers and the hundreds of volunteers who support The Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers are also Passion Capitalists.  Our thanks to all the walkers and volunteers and a special thanks to the good beer folks at Steam Whistle!

This morning, the 7^th floor Research Atrium of The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre was transformed into a scene from Saturday Night Fever!  The official launch of Disco Days and Boogie Nights was a spectacular hit!  You can check out the event -- to be held February 12^th, 2012 -- at the link below.  Dance to Conquer Cancer has now been officially added to our stable of incredible events.  The committee for Disco Days and Boogie Nights, led by Hinda Silber and Mary Shechtman, has launched one of the great events that Toronto will see in 2012!  Elana Waldman shared her moving personal story and also spoke of her commitment to build a team (Disco Babes) and come out to support this event.  The wonderful dynamic duo of Cindy Goelman and Dayna Bleeman should be proud of the excellent work they have done in helping bring this incredible new event to life!  The Flash Mob dance team from PMHF and from our volunteer community really lit things up this morning!  See the video link below and turn on your disco ball!  Finally, the entertainment announced this morning with fitness expert Richard Simmons leading part of our afternoon’s festivities and the disco diva herself, Miss Gloria Gaynor (I Will Survive is one of my favourite disco songs of all time) will light up the cold February night where we all come together to dance 10,000 steps To Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime.  I can’t wait to don my disco wig and wide tie again and bust a move myself on February 12^th.  Thanks again to each and everyone on the organizing committee and in The Foundation who have helped launch what will be one of the great events in Toronto in 2012.

Last Saturday, October 1st was an historic day for cancer research and Road Hockey fans!  The first annual Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer was held and raised $2.4 million!  Over 1,500 participants and over 100 volunteers braved an early morning chill and it was GAME ON!  Road Hockey Warriors from all walks of life (from David Thomson and his team from Woodbridge Co. to college students) all gathered with two specific goals.  First, raise a world record amount for Road Hockey.  Second, have an absolute BLAST playing Road Hockey!  Over 400 games were played and competition was friendly but intense!  The festival feel was like “The Woodstock of Road Hockey”.  We are incredibly grateful to our sponsors Boston Pizza, to our corporate teams, to our dozens of celebrities, but most of all to the wonderful band of Road Hockey players who came out and made this an extraordinary success.  Thanks to our doctors, Foundation staff (especially Steve, Christine, Shawn, Kaitlyn, Kevin and many more), the media and our donor community.  Just a wonderful and world record fundraising success.  Game On and I can’t wait for next year and the national expansion of this superb, passionate, spirited, well organized event!

Two video clips from BNN appear below. The first is BNN Anchor Marty Cej’s overview of the event. The second is an interview with me on the success and expansion.  Note the two references to Canadian Cancer Society and the national support we are looking for to expand the event to other communities.  Many thanks to Peter Goodhand, Martin Kabat and all at Canadian Cancer Society for the partnership and support!  Hats off to BNN, to Jack Fleischmann, Marty Cej and Mark Bunting-proving BNN “Walks the Walk and Plays the Road Hockey too!”.  Many thanks to all for a spectacular event.

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip542873
Marty Cej’s event overview

http://watch.bnn.ca/#clip542860
Paul’s interview

We are getting totally geared up and fully prepared for our Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer event on October 1^st.  We have spent close to two years preparing, planning, talking, listening, detailing, building and leading this new venture. Game Day is almost upon us!  We are thrilled as we will be raising a record amount for a Road Hockey event and participation will go beyond 1,000…..well beyond!  Final figures Saturday morning but they are going to be EPIC!  We have partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society and our vision and ambition is to roll this Road Hockey event out to other cities and towns across Canada in the years ahead.  I haven’t played Road Hockey in a very long time (like 40 years!) but I just can’t wait to play on Saturday.  I think Road Hockey is embedded in the genome of every Canadian!  Our Canadian DNA must have a special feature which compels us to pick up a stick, pull on our running shoes and slap a ball around the street.  We have so many people to thank and recognize like our major sponsor Boston Pizza and our Team Captains who stepped out and pulled together their teams.  It’s going to be cool, breezy and a (hopefully) perfect Canadian Fall day on Saturday.  I will think back to being 10 years old and playing Road Hockey on my street in Windsor.  In honor of this memory my team is called “The Kings of Buckingham”.  We have a mixture of young athletic legs and older crunchy knees making up our team of 10.  We are united by the same DNA…..we all love Road Hockey and we’re all doing something important to Conquer Cancer.  It’s almost “GAME ON TIME”!!!  I can’t wait!

I first met Heather Reisman when she was considering moving into the book retailing business in the early 90s.  A mutual friend, named Tom Ehrlich, introduced us  and we had lunch together.  Heather is an enormously successful and talented business leader and so is her husband, Gerry Schwartz.  Individually and collectively, they are a force of nature in business, the arts, and philanthropy.  Heather went on to found Indigo Books and built some of the world’s best book superstores.  She is not your typical CEO as she refers to herself and her title as “Chief Book Lover”.  While the book retailing business is very challenging, Heather has used her passion for books to build a very successful company.  In accepting an award from the Alberta School of Business in September 2011, Heather was quoted as saying, “Retail today is the place to be for people who are insanely passionate about connecting consumers with great products and who want to exercise their creative abilities.”  Heather Reisman is a Passion Capitalist who understands the importance of being “insanely passionate” about her vocation and avocation. 

Another person who is “insanely passionate” about life and about walking is the 98 year-old Kitty Cohen.  Kitty is an iconic figure in the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers which has raised well over $100 million for The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.  While Kitty does not complete the full 60 kilometers of the walk any more, she does cover at least half that distance and seems to be everywhere on this monumental fundraising walk.  Kitty is best known for walking the Walk, but also for dancing a jig in the last kilometer before the finish line.  Kitty trains year round and is not shy about asking everyone she meets for a donation to women’s cancer research.  Over 4,000 women and men participate every year in the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers in Toronto and thousands more participate across Canada.  September 2012 is the 10^th year celebration of the Walk and Kitty is an Honorary Chair and “insanely passionate” about her participation in the extraordinary event.  At 99, Kitty will continue to bring her energy and intensity to sustaining this important fundraising event.  Kitty is a force of nature!

Whether succeeding in building one of the world’s great book store chains or in leading a 60 kilometer fundraising walk for women’s cancer research, the idea of being “insanely passionate” about what you are doing creates a starting point for “the Passion Capitalist”.

Last weekend 4,013 brave advocates took to the streets of Toronto in support of the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers.  We raised an incredible $9.4 million which is slightly more than a similar walk in New York City this year and about $3 million more than a similar walk in Chicago!  Our doctors and researchers were out “Walking the Walk” too.  Drs. Tak Mak, David McCready, Pam Catton, Stephane Lamframboise, Pam Ohashi, Malcolm Moore……just dozens and dozens of our top Doctors and Researchers out.  Beautiful weather greeted us and a beautiful song by Johnny Reid launched us Saturday morning (Johnny led his Pink Tartan Team as well and on Monday night won Fans Choice and other awards at the CCMA’s).  A long and glorious walk down to PMH, pictures, tears, high fives, hugs, photos, Tak Mak shaking every hand……what a great day.  Saturday night was rockin’ as the tent was filled, and Kitty Cohen and the Toronto Firefighters from the Calender plus an excellent band kept us shakin.  I joined my pal and great friend Chad for a cold Stella (two actually) at our tents before bed.  No trouble sleeping under a full moon on a warm night.  Sunday was beautiful again.  Bag Pipes sent Sheila and me and all the walkers off.  Treats, baked goods, water, a block party…..what a day on Sunday.  Closing is always emotional to me as I always think about my Mom ---Pat Alofs---a teacher and the world’s best Mom--- who died of breast cancer Nov. 2^nd, 2002.  I think of her daily but the walk is a time Sheila remembers her Dad and I remember my Mom and we remember all the family, friends and supporters who have cancer.  A spectacular weekend.  Next year is TEN YEARS STRONG and our 10^th Anniversary of the Walk.  We have over 2,600 walkers signed up already for Sept. 8^th and 9^th 2012.  It is going to be our biggest and best Walk yet.  Thanks to each and every one of you who “Walked the Walk”.  You represent the best of the human condition.  You are not going to believe how big and successful 2012 will be! 

Have a look at the video below and hope to see you out Walking the walk on the BEST WEEKEND OF THE YEAR!!!

Working to conquer cancer in our lifetime at The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation has put me on top of the world on so many occasions. Knowing that The Foundation is playing an integral role in changing healthcare is a superb feeling, but on Wednesday morning, I was literally on top of the world. Along with some special guests and some spirited players, we set a record by staging the world’s highest road hockey game, playing at the top of the CN Tower.

Dawn was just breaking when we took the elevator ride 342 metres (1,122 feet) from ground level to the Observation Deck of the CN Tower. On one side, you could see well across Lake Ontario, and on the other, you could see The Princess Margaret from above.  The elevator ride was one thing but stepping onto the glass floor was almost more than I was ready for.

The ball was dropped between me and Neil Currie of the Toronto Regional Board of the Canadian Cancer Society. I don’t want to sound immodest, but I won that faceoff like Derek Sanderson would have once upon a time with the Boston Bruins. By the way, Derek was there with us on Wednesday, supporting Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer. He’ll be one of the 70 celebrity honorary captains that will be on hand on event day. In spite of the bravery Derek showed on the ice back in the day, he wouldn’t go near that glass floor, gripping the wall tightly when he had to go anywhere near it.

The world’s highest road hockey game continued for almost two hours, with media capturing the new record. It was a superb event, but served to remind everyone that we are shooting for another world record on Saturday, October 1 as we prepare for the world’s largest fundraising road hockey event. On that date, Ontario Place will host more than 250 road hockey teams, each comprised of 8 to 10 players. Every team will play 5 games through the day, dawn to dusk, with food, beverages, live music, massage therapy and interactive games keeping players engaged between games.  

Our ‘Shock and Awe-gust’ promotion is nearing its end. If you’d like to be part of a world record, come join us for Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer. Until the end of August, the registration fee is just $25, and generous sponsors allow us to give everyone a $250 fundraising credit. There is a new team minimum of $10,000, too.

So, The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and our friends at the Canadian Cancer Society soared to new heights with Wednesday’s world’s highest road hockey game, and we’re shooting for another world record on Game Day, Saturday, October 1, when Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer comes to life.

Game On!

The most powerful force on earth is a large group (4,500+) of mostly women with a just cause who decide they want to change the world.  This is the best and most accurate description of the Shoppers Drug Mart® Weekend to End Women’s Cancers™ I can think of.  This September 10^th and 11^th will be the ninth year for the Walk.  Hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised across Canada by the remarkable women (and men!) of the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers™.  The walking is not easy…..32 km on Saturday and 28km on Sunday for a grand total of 60km for the two day walkers.  Fund raising is also tough in that a two day walker must raise $2,000 as a minimum.  So why do these brave and spirited women and men sign up to walk and volunteer?  As Johnny Reid sings so brilliantly because “They want to change the world”.  We all want to Conquer Cancer In Our Lifetime…..and particularly we want to End Women’s Cancers in Our Lifetime! By the way, Johnny Reid and his Pink Tartan team are walking and Johnny will be singing at opening ceremony!  So let me give you a heads up on the incredible route this year.  We are starting at Downsview Park where the parking is free and plentiful.  We’ll walk a beautiful city plus park walk downtown through some of Toronto’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods.  We’ll walk around the U of T, down my favourite restaurant street in the world (Baldwin Street) and then come out right by The Princess Margaret.  We’ll stop for pictures and celebration and high fives with hospital staff and volunteers by the score.  We’ll head back to Downsview through parks and a great and eclectic cross section of Toronto neighbourhoods.  We’ll finish to cheers and hugs and celebration back at camp at Downsview.  Camp is amazing and this year will be a grand celebration so hang around even if you are not sleeping out.  Day two starts bright and early at Downsview.  We’ll travel through neighbourhoods which have been so special and welcoming in the past as well as new neighbourhoods.  Near the end of the walk on Day 2 get ready for some great surprises…..actually ALWAYS be prepared for great and warm and wonderful surprises both days!  Finishing line at Downsview and closing ceremony is special and emotional and memorable beyond description.  This is just a sneak peak at what will be the most special weekend of the year!  Get ready veteran walkers for some great and special new route, camp and other delightful surprises!  Newbies, get ready for a weekend that could well change your life!  I can’t wait to see you and start walking!!!! This will be the BEST WALK YET!!!  See you SOON!!!

Warm Regards, 

Paul (9 year walker)