Feast of Fortune gala in support of St. Paul’s Hospital, Feb. 11, Vancouver
Vancouver’s Feast of Fortune gala raised a record-breaking $3.5-million on the eve of Feb. 11. The funds raised at the 16th annual gala will support St. Paul’s Hospital’s coming state-of-the-art Clinical Support and Research Centre, to be connected to the new hospital on the Jim Pattison Medical Campus. The gala began as it always has, with cocktails, followed by a dinner prepared by returning event partner the Chinese Restaurant Awards, who brought along a handful of prominent local chefs including head chef of Fish Man, Chef Li Bo, and executive chef Leo Wang from Chang’An. The do’, presented by Scotiabank and attended by 400 guests, was on track to raise nearly $1-million. An exciting twist came after dinner following a compelling video that spoke to the need for support, when two donors, Peter Bull, a Providence Health Care board member, chairman of the West Pender Property Group and the president of P.M. Bull & Company Ltd., and Terry Hui, president and CEO of Concord Pacific Developments Inc., stood up and each pledged $1-million. Applause and ovation followed. Since its inception, the gathering, which is billed as a philanthropic celebration of the Lunar New Year, has raised an impressive $12-million to fund important ventures in research, diagnostic tools and surgical equipment for Providence Health Care, a network of 17 medical sites with a staff of 8,000 across British Columbia. Among those in the ballroom of the JW Marriott Parq Vancouver: Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim; supporters Sing and Patricia Yeo; Lisa Wu, Fred Lee and Bowen Zhang, who served as event hosts; and of course Dick Vollet, president & CEO, St. Paul’s Foundation, and Fiona Dalton, president & CEO, Providence Health Care.
POGO PJ Party, Feb. 9, Toronto
A couple of nights earlier, the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (known as POGO), was on hosting duties in Toronto. The latest edition of the POGO PJ Party, a lighthearted gathering where guests don their best pyjamas in support of the organization supporting those affected by childhood cancer, took place Feb. 9. The theme and requested attire is a nod, or sartorial moment of solidarity, with more than 4,300 families in Ontario who have a child undergoing cancer-related treatment. For these young ones, PJs are worn for the time spent in hospital, the early morning car rides to clinic, or being sick at home and missing school. Since its inception the annual cocktail party has raised more than $1.5-million, monies which help families pay for out-of-pocket costs incurred by their child’s treatment. The 300-or-so guests at this latest, where Rebecca McKenzie served as chair and Jenny Scongack headed up the auction, raised north of $300,000.