Capital hoedown was here and gone (no stage collapses) and the Cancer Foundation raised over $4000 with the guitar raffle thanks to the generosity of the folks here in Ottawa.
It was the 30th anniversary of the Xerox 10k run on Tuesday, August 16. There was a good crowd that came out and the mayor kicked things off. We certainly appreciate that funds were raised for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. We really do live in a wonderful community.
Registration opened up for two of our fundraising events. Grape Stomp on September 25 and The Nordic Walk for Cancer SurvivorshipTM on October 30. These are two wonderful events and remember that the funds are used right here in our community to improve cancer survivorship careTM.
Every week there are a few things that change here at the centre. The infrared Sauna is now in its home in one of the therapy rooms of the healing corner. Infrared sauna rays are waves of energy totally invisible to the naked eye, capable of penetrating deep into the human body, where they gently elevate the body's surface temperature and activate major bodily functions. The rays expand capillaries which stimulate increased blood flow, regeneration, circulation and oxygenation.
We also received a beauty of a BBQ donated to us by Romantic Fireplaces and BBQs in Orleans. It is quite the BBQ and will be used for a variety of activities at the Centre.
I'll keep you up to speed as things continue to progress.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
It's a busy time -- and we love it
Finishing touches are being added everyday to the new Cancer Survivorship Centre. This week, workers are installing a water feature in the McGarry Family atrium. The water feature was designed by Nicholas Bott, owner of the Pond Clinic and the man behind the Ottawa Water Garden Festival.
The water feature will include a digital inlay that will highlight the thousands of supporters of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation and the Maplesoft Centre. A camera will be mounted on the wall across from the fountain and project the names onto the water feature. Very cool!
The equipment has arrived for the Snoezelen Room -- a very cool multi-sensory environment that involves stimulating all the senses and designed for multiple education and therapy purposes.Snoezelen has been used for those with dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, intellectual or mental disabilities or to boost relaxation and creativity. Snoezelen has also been used to treat chronic pain and chemo fog. We look forward to having the equipment up and running now that it's arrived at the Centre.
But the Maplesoft Centre is not the only place where the action is happening. The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has a tent set up at this year's Capital Hoedown, one of the country's biggest country music festivals. The festival runs from August 11 to 13 and features headliners Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Miranda Lambert. The Cancer Foundation is raffling off a guitar signed by all the artists at this year's festival.
We are also gearing up for this year's edition of The Grape Stomp. This is a shout out to register your team for the Grape Stomp as soon as possible. It's a unique team relay race that's easy, fun and raises funds for cancer research that is being conducted in our very own community. The Grape Stomp is one of the culminating events that is part of La Vendemmia -- a celebration of Italian food, wine and culture. It's a classic fall event in Ottawa and takes place on the new and improved Preston Street -- free of construction and looking better then ever. Remember to register your team.
There is lots more coming up so stay tuned!
The water feature will include a digital inlay that will highlight the thousands of supporters of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation and the Maplesoft Centre. A camera will be mounted on the wall across from the fountain and project the names onto the water feature. Very cool!
The equipment has arrived for the Snoezelen Room -- a very cool multi-sensory environment that involves stimulating all the senses and designed for multiple education and therapy purposes.Snoezelen has been used for those with dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, intellectual or mental disabilities or to boost relaxation and creativity. Snoezelen has also been used to treat chronic pain and chemo fog. We look forward to having the equipment up and running now that it's arrived at the Centre.
But the Maplesoft Centre is not the only place where the action is happening. The Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has a tent set up at this year's Capital Hoedown, one of the country's biggest country music festivals. The festival runs from August 11 to 13 and features headliners Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Miranda Lambert. The Cancer Foundation is raffling off a guitar signed by all the artists at this year's festival.
We are also gearing up for this year's edition of The Grape Stomp. This is a shout out to register your team for the Grape Stomp as soon as possible. It's a unique team relay race that's easy, fun and raises funds for cancer research that is being conducted in our very own community. The Grape Stomp is one of the culminating events that is part of La Vendemmia -- a celebration of Italian food, wine and culture. It's a classic fall event in Ottawa and takes place on the new and improved Preston Street -- free of construction and looking better then ever. Remember to register your team.
There is lots more coming up so stay tuned!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Settling in!
The entire staff at the Cancer Foundation was tremendously proud to arrive at our new home on Monday morning. We were greeted with home-baked scones and other celebratory morning goodies. Linda gave the staff a tour of the entire facility. For some of us it was the first time in months that we had been in the centre and every turn of the corner (there are many corners) brought more ohs and aws. We settled into our individual work stations, learned how the new phones worked and got down to business.
There are a few finishing touches to complete, but things are progressing well and we are very fortunate to be in such a wonderful space.
On Friday, July 15 we will be welcoming Estrellita Karsh who has presented the Cancer Foundation with a original Yousuf Karsh portrait of Helen Keller and her long-time companion, Polly Thompson. It's a wonderful gift to the Centre and fits in so well with what we are trying to achieve at the cancer survivorshop centre. We aim to provide the community with the resources, tools and information they need putting recovery back in the hands of cancer survivors and their families. Guidance and wisdom -- those things resonate through the Karsh portrait.
Stay tuned for more information about the grand opening this fall.
There are a few finishing touches to complete, but things are progressing well and we are very fortunate to be in such a wonderful space.
On Friday, July 15 we will be welcoming Estrellita Karsh who has presented the Cancer Foundation with a original Yousuf Karsh portrait of Helen Keller and her long-time companion, Polly Thompson. It's a wonderful gift to the Centre and fits in so well with what we are trying to achieve at the cancer survivorshop centre. We aim to provide the community with the resources, tools and information they need putting recovery back in the hands of cancer survivors and their families. Guidance and wisdom -- those things resonate through the Karsh portrait.
Stay tuned for more information about the grand opening this fall.
Monday, July 11, 2011
NIght of Courage a resounding success
A NIGHT OF COURAGE
Ottawa's partying young people got the cancer message on Friday night.
Homegrown NHLers Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers and Martin St. Pierre of the Columbus Blue Jackets joined ORCF's Chuck Merovitz and Max Keeping in a midnight nightclub blitz to spread the word that cancer shows no bias on age. Breast and testicular cancers particularly hit the 20-something demographic.
The unique event was the brainchild of Abbis Mahmoud, owner of Urban Male Magazine, and longtime nightclub owner in Ottawa and Toronto. He led the cancer messengers to his clubs - Lobby, Mansion, and Union Station, where cover charge, raffles and donations were given to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. Two other nightclubs, Tila Tequila and Buddha Bar Lounge, participated in the fundraising/awareness promotion. All bar staff wore "COURAGE" shirts.
Earlier, Abbis Mamoud hosted a Next Generation cocktail reception in his Byward Market condo - where Chuck and Max spoke of the cancer Foundation's Survivorship focus, and the Maplesoft Centre which will open to the public in the fall. The thousands of dollars raised by Mahmoud's Night of Courage will be directed to the programs at the Centre. Merovitz is a tireless fundraising leader for the Cancer Foundation, who spearheaded development of the Ottawa Cancer Survivor's Park. Keeping is founding co-chair of the Alterna Do It For Dad walk/run - and is a cancer survivor.
Monday, July 4, 2011
A night of Courage
On Friday, July 8, Urban Male Magazine(UMM), Canada’s Best Selling Men’s Magazine, is holding the first official A Night of COURAGE. It’s one night dedicated to raising important funding in support of Cancer Survivorship Care programming at the Maplesoft Centre.
It's a perfect example of how local businesses are joining the fight for cancer survivorship. Their efforts are helping reach a new generation of donor.
On July 8, 100% of Cover Charge, Donations and Silent Auction proceeds from the UMM establishments listed below will benefit ‘A Night of Courage’
LOBBY Nightclub @ 158 ½ Dalhousie St.
Tila Tequila Nightclub @ 104 Clarence St.
Buddha Bar Lounge @ 104B Clarence St.
Mansion @ 400A Dalhousie St.
Union Station Pub Club @ 360 Elgin St.
Monday, June 20, 2011
You could feel the energy
It was amazing to be part of the 13th edition of the Alterna Do It for Dad Family Run and Walk. Not only was there record participation and money raised, but you could feel this positive energy ripple through the entire site. It's a unique running event. Given it's Father's Day, you have all generations represented from babies in strollers to the 70+ who actually ran the race. Over two thousand people participated in this year's event topping last year's number by over 500. It was such a beautiful day in Ottawa -- sunny, little wind, no humidity and a celebratory feeling that had everyone smiling.
It was a sea of grey Do It For Dad t-shirts -- 56 corporate teams, 49 family teams and waves of individual participants. Max Keeping, one of the founders of this event and such a powerful community ambassador led the formal presentations with his warm and familiar voice. Greg Herbert and Team greggybear were front and centre having raised over $72,000. Just about everyone in that crowd has been touched directly or indirectly by cancer and that's a powerful incentive to get involved and contribute.
Together we are making a difference one victory at a time.
It was a sea of grey Do It For Dad t-shirts -- 56 corporate teams, 49 family teams and waves of individual participants. Max Keeping, one of the founders of this event and such a powerful community ambassador led the formal presentations with his warm and familiar voice. Greg Herbert and Team greggybear were front and centre having raised over $72,000. Just about everyone in that crowd has been touched directly or indirectly by cancer and that's a powerful incentive to get involved and contribute.
Together we are making a difference one victory at a time.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Two more sleeps until Do It For Dad
The Cancer Foundation offices have been buzzing all week as staff get set for this weekend's Alterna Do It For Dad Family Run and Walk. We are looking at a record number of participants this year -- nearly 2,000. We added a new 5 km walk this year that has proven really popular. We already had the 2 km family walk, but I think people wanted a little more exercise without necessarily running.
The Alterna Do It For Dad is by far one of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation's biggest fundraisers and we are lucky to have some great sponsors to support us especially Alterna as our title sponsor. This year, the money raised is going to help fund a very cool robotic surgery system called the Da Vinci surgical system. In a nutshell, it will minimize surgeries, reduce recovery time and shorten hospital stays and those are all very good things.
Anyone who has ever been involved in organizing an event of this size can appreciate the work that goes into the backend. I have to give a very big shout out to our event planning team and all of the Cancer Foundation staff, for putting together what looks to be a fantastic event. It even looks like Mother Nature is going to cooperate which is always a bonus.
It's not too late to join in and Do It For Dad. You can still register on event day starting at 6:30 a.m.
The Alterna Do It For Dad is by far one of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation's biggest fundraisers and we are lucky to have some great sponsors to support us especially Alterna as our title sponsor. This year, the money raised is going to help fund a very cool robotic surgery system called the Da Vinci surgical system. In a nutshell, it will minimize surgeries, reduce recovery time and shorten hospital stays and those are all very good things.
Anyone who has ever been involved in organizing an event of this size can appreciate the work that goes into the backend. I have to give a very big shout out to our event planning team and all of the Cancer Foundation staff, for putting together what looks to be a fantastic event. It even looks like Mother Nature is going to cooperate which is always a bonus.
It's not too late to join in and Do It For Dad. You can still register on event day starting at 6:30 a.m.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
