TORONTO – Bell Canada announced today that its 17th annual Celebrity Classic charity golf tournament raised more than $200,000 for SickKids Foundation, more than double Bell’s 2005 fundraising target and vastly exceeding the event’s $100,000 raised in 2004.
The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, affectionately known as SickKids, is one of the largest pediatric health and scientific research centres in the world. Approximately 50,000 children are treated in the emergency centre each year. Some 15,000 children a year are admitted to the hospital itself, while its 100 clinics see 300,000 patients annually. In addition to treating Toronto-based patients, SickKids cares for children from all over Canada and from more than 40 countries each year.
"Bell is committed, as a company and as a team of individual employees, to be engaged in the communities we serve. The Bell Celebrity Classic is about being more than a benefactor for SickKids; it is about being a partner that can make meaningful differences in their community, with the families and children they impact and help every single day," said Alek Krstajic, President, Bell Mobility, Bell Canada. "This year we are very excited to contribute $200,000 to the SickKids Foundation in support of its work with children, and we look forward to our ongoing opportunities to increase donation dollars with events such as the upcoming Bell Celebrity Gala this fall."
In January 2005, Bell unveiled the ‘Connected to Communities’ program, committing to raise community investments that encourage community economic development and programs that benefit children and youth by 40% – from $18 to $26 million- by 2007. Core programs under the Connected to Communities banner include Children’s Hospitals, Youth Enrichment, Cyber Safety, and Community Economic Development.
"Corporate support from companies such as Bell is critical in helping SickKids improve the health and well-being of children here in Canada and around the world," said Michael O’Mahoney, President of SickKids Foundation. "The $200,000 Bell donation to SickKids Foundation represents one of the largest contributions raised from a corporate golf tournament held on our behalf."
The Bell Celebrity Classic, held in Markham on July 26th, was attended by over 600 guests and over 100 celebrities, including members of the U.S. Celebrity Players Tour such as Mario Lemieux, Alfonso Ribeiro, Marcus Allen, Grant Fuhr, Seth Joyner, Clark Gillies; they joined the likes of Louis Gossett Jr., Doug Gilmour, Pat Quinn, Mike "Pinball" Clemons, Damon Allen, Tom Cochrane, Curtis Joseph, Catriona Le May Doan, Darryl Sittler, Rick Vaive, Morris Peterson and Tie Domi, among many others.
www.bce.ca/en/responsibility/people/community
SickKids Foundation is the largest non-governmental granting agency in child health in Canada. Established in 1972, SickKids Foundation has granted over $300 million to The Hospital for Sick Children and over $60 million to researchers across the country. Our mission is to inspire our communities to invest in medical and scientific advances to improve the lives of children and their families in Canada and around the world. We invest our community’s contributions in outstanding patient care, research and education. Support for SickKids Foundation comes from many sources: individuals, community events, corporate partners, and other charities and foundations. SickKids Foundation believes there is no one else in Canada as dedicated as we are to eliminating the gap between what is happening in child health research and what should be happening. Our vision: Healthier children. A better world.
