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Philanthropic Phriday 63: CHEO Telethon
May. 28th, 2021 03:12 pmThis week's donation goes to the CHEO Telethon:
https://www.cheotelethon.com/home
The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario holds a telethon once a year. Usually there are also lots of in-person events, the big one being the Teddy Bears' Picnic complete with B.A.S.H. tent for sick and injured teddy bears, food, face painting, fortune telling and plenty of parkland to enjoy. I used to have a purple HEEO (CHEO in French, at least in those days) sweatshirt with a teddy bear on it that I bought at the office as part of their fundraising activities there, but that of course is long gone now.
This year, with most of the traditional large fundraising events off the table, various local celebrities have been shaving their heads or dyeing their hair in vibrant hues to raise additional funds. I hope it works, as the amount raised in 2020 was down substantially from previous years, just at a time when children and youth are in the greatest state of crisis. Demands on CHEO's services have never been greater and the aftermath of Covid-19 in terms of mental health and clearing the backlog of non-Covid priorities stands to keep CHEO's workload higher than ever.
CHEO was not around when I was a kid but I do recall that I was somewhere in my teens when plans were in the works for it. I even volunteered for a few shifts at a booth at the Ex, to provide some general information and hand out a few pamphlets. I think there was a small-scale model of what the finished structure would look like and where the various services would be located. It's all so long ago but it did mean that I got free passes to get into the Exhibition grounds!
I'd still like to see an equivalent Quebec institution for the Outaouais, and this may happen yet. In April 2020, for example, I wrote about the Charlotte Mantha endowment fund, dedicated to building a Gatineau children's hospital:
https://blogcutter.dreamwidth.org/tag/charlotte+mantha+endowment+fund
I've been checking the Gatineau Hospital Foundation's website from time to time to see what projects are in the works and it does look as if Hull will have a new hospital in the next few years, though not solely dedicated to paediatrics. We shall see.
https://www.cheotelethon.com/home
The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario holds a telethon once a year. Usually there are also lots of in-person events, the big one being the Teddy Bears' Picnic complete with B.A.S.H. tent for sick and injured teddy bears, food, face painting, fortune telling and plenty of parkland to enjoy. I used to have a purple HEEO (CHEO in French, at least in those days) sweatshirt with a teddy bear on it that I bought at the office as part of their fundraising activities there, but that of course is long gone now.
This year, with most of the traditional large fundraising events off the table, various local celebrities have been shaving their heads or dyeing their hair in vibrant hues to raise additional funds. I hope it works, as the amount raised in 2020 was down substantially from previous years, just at a time when children and youth are in the greatest state of crisis. Demands on CHEO's services have never been greater and the aftermath of Covid-19 in terms of mental health and clearing the backlog of non-Covid priorities stands to keep CHEO's workload higher than ever.
CHEO was not around when I was a kid but I do recall that I was somewhere in my teens when plans were in the works for it. I even volunteered for a few shifts at a booth at the Ex, to provide some general information and hand out a few pamphlets. I think there was a small-scale model of what the finished structure would look like and where the various services would be located. It's all so long ago but it did mean that I got free passes to get into the Exhibition grounds!
I'd still like to see an equivalent Quebec institution for the Outaouais, and this may happen yet. In April 2020, for example, I wrote about the Charlotte Mantha endowment fund, dedicated to building a Gatineau children's hospital:
https://blogcutter.dreamwidth.org/tag/charlotte+mantha+endowment+fund
I've been checking the Gatineau Hospital Foundation's website from time to time to see what projects are in the works and it does look as if Hull will have a new hospital in the next few years, though not solely dedicated to paediatrics. We shall see.
