CFKF: A Huge Blessing Thanks To You

The Sedins did their part this year to help the kids. And so did you.
Thank you, British Columbia!
(Photo courtesy Vancouver Canucks – canucks.com)

Today, the Canucks For Kids Fund announced that it has raised a record-setting $4.2 million for charitable grants and donations this year.

That’s $4.2 million from you, Canucks fans!

Thank you.

That $4.2 million is a LOT of money. A lot of donations coming from all parts of British Columbia. The people of BC should be proud of their generosity. And that money is going to some truly worthy causes. The main benefactors of this substantial amount of fundraising are the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, and BC Children’s Hospital.

I’m a parent. I’m a parent of a child recovering from cancer. My eldest daughter is 9 and a half now and is four years into remission from Wilm’s Tumour, kidney cancer almost exclusively found in children. It’s not common either. About three kids in BC per year are diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumour. Three. Not 3000. Not 300. Not Even 30. Three. Why do I bring that up? Because my daughter was immediately sent to BC Children’s Hospital for diagnosis, treatment and follow-on care, and has been going ever since. You would think that a diagnosis as uncommon as Wilm’s Tumour would require specialists from some exotic location, at some exorbitant expense to either the family or the government. You would think that a diagnosis where only three kids in a huge province like BC would mean that it require some highly specialized treatment from a specialized Cancer research facility.

Nope. All the doctors and trained staff were already at the BCCH. They are an amazing group of people. And they have successfully taken my daughter through to four years of remission and counting. How on Earth is that possible? Without donations and grants from Canucks For Kids Fund and Miracle Network Telethon, these types of stories simply never happen, because the level of care wouldn’t be possible. And believe me, as a parent who has seen the level of care that our province’s children receive, it is shockingly good. Amazingly good. Heartwarmedly good.

Mine is only one story, and it’s focused exclusively on Children’s Hospital. Let’s remember that the other two main recipients from the CFKF grants are Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and the Canucks Autism Network, two equally deserving and important institutions to help in the ongoing care of our province’s sick or needy children.

And it isn’t just those three. CFKF helps a huge list of other causes. To quote directly from the Canucks’ press release, the CFKF also provided dditional grant recipients include Adoptive Families Association, Athletics for Kids, BC Blind Sports, BC Woman’s Hospital, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Vancouver, Britannia Hockey Academy, CAN Van Program, Canucks Family Education Centre, Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Hockey Canada, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Phoenix Academy of Learning, Rare Disease Foundation, Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation, Theatre Templeton, Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association, YWCA, Arts Umbrella, CFKF Power Play, CFKF FIN’s Friends and Canucks Centre for BC Hockey.

Now this isn’t just a one-off donation from the Canucks For Kids Fun. Not even close. In March of this year, CFKF donated $5 million to BC Children’s Hospital, in order to help with the construction of new facilities and to fund the Diabetes Research Laboratory at the Child & Family Research Institute. All told, CFKF has donated over $36.5 million to various charities.

But that money has to come from somewhere. So thank you to the people of BC for your donations over the years. Your generosity is truly exceptional. I’ll promise to keep doing my part if you do the same. Let’s keep it up.

Our children need all the help they can get.