NEWS RELEASE from BC Children’s Hospital
BC Children’s Hospital, Vancouver, June 30, 2010 – Local businesses can now double the impact of their donation to Grind For Kids. Canada’s Whistler Water is making a generous offer to match all funds raised by corporations during the month of July 2010 up to $40,000. Locally owned and operated, Whistler Water recently launched Grind For Kids, a brand-new fundraising initiative using one of Vancouver’s most iconic natural features – The Grouse Grind – to raise money and awareness for the incredible work of BC Children’s Hospital.
The Corporate Challenge aspect of the Grind for Kids campaign speaks directly to local businesses looking to get involved in this one of a kind initiative. Participating businesses will see their contributions immediately doubled by Whistler Water’s fund-matching campaign, to benefit one of the most unique charitable ideas of the summer.
Funds raised through Grind For Kids will help meet urgent needs at BC Children’s Hospital each year, including clinical care, research into prevention, treatments and cures for childhood diseases, community child-health programs, and equipment purchases.
“We are offering local companies a fantastic opportunity to make every dollar count twice,” said Whistler Water’s Marketing Director Chris Dagenais. “We are determined to raise a mountain of money for BC Children’s Hospital, and we can achieve this by calling on corporate donors as well as individuals already involved to support Grind For Kids.”
BC Children’s Hospital is the province’s only full-service acute care hospital and it serves approximately one million children living in BC and the Yukon. All children who are seriously ill or injured are referred to Children’s Hospital and are treated at the hospital facility in Vancouver or, with consultation from Children’s specialists, in their home community. Last year, more than 78,000 children were treated at Children’s Hospital.
“Grind For Kids isn’t simply for people who climb the famous trail,” said Dr. Shubhayan Sanatani, the pediatric cardiac electrophysiologist at Children’s Heart Centre. “Corporate donations – especially when matched – help so many children each year, and represent a lot of goodwill that is alive in our community.”
The Grouse Grind is one of the most hiked trails in the world and is affectionately known as “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster”. Grind for Kids is presented by Whistler Water, and will run from June 15th, 2010 through September, 2010 (culminating with the Grouse Grind Mountain Run).
People can sign-up for Grind For Kids online at www.grindforkids.com and ask friends, family and co-workers to pledge a donation for every Grind they complete. Once registered, each participant gets a personal webpage that they can use to send pledge requests, record grinds completed and share information and goals. Participants collect pledges for every time they tackle the trail.
A large but achievable fundraising goal of $1 million has been set, and next month, all corporate donations towards Grind For Kids will help double these efforts.