Chair of the Health Sciences Foundation Board of Directors
THUNDER BAY – HEALTH – With Mother’s Day just behind us, finally summer seems like it is around the corner. The warmer weather and sunshine are fantastic, but successes like our Exceptional Cancer Care Campaign are monumental! Thanks to you and our entire community we have now raised over $7,200,000 to provide exceptional cancer care close to home! This is a HUGE accomplishment that we don’t take lightly. Thank you to each and every one of you who sold or bought raffle tickets, gave a gift or attended one of our special events. Simply said, we couldn’t have done it without you.
To help reach this goal we threw another fun and fabulous Elekta Bachelors for Hope Charity Auction. Thanks to the 350 attendees who dressed to the nines in their 20’s themed outfits, the generous bidders and the sponsors, over $86,000 was raised in support of breast cancer screening, care, education and research for women and their families in Northwestern Ontario. This year we had a great group of 10 bachelors that really worked hard for the cause. Not only did they attend dance practices and strut their stuff on the stage at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Convention Centre but they raised over $11,000 in pledges – the highest amount that bachelors have ever raised! These generous gifts ensure the Health Sciences Foundation can continue to fund the annual capital needs of the Health Sciences Centre and its regional programs.
Our relationship with the hospitals across Northwestern Ontario is very important to the Health Sciences Foundation Staff and Board. We realize that many people have to come from their home communities to Thunder Bay for treatment. That’s one of the reasons we take the grant requests we receive from hospitals across the region so seriously. We realize that these hospitals have needs of their own in providing services that are part of the programs offered by Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and, as a Board we are dedicated to making sure they have the best equipment possible so that when treatment is needed, patients can stay as close to home as possible.
Every gift, whether made monthly, in memory of a loved one, in honor of a special occasion, in a Will or at an event impacts the care offered here at the Health Sciences Centre. We hope that with our continued efforts to bring you timely information and use your money wisely, you will continue your support of advancements in healthcare and make the Health Sciences Foundation your charity of choice. Of course, we welcome your feedback anytime. Please call us at (807) 345-4673 or e-mail info@healthsciencesfoundation.ca to share your thoughts.
Tracey Nieckarz
Chair of the Health Sciences Foundation Board of Directors