Message from the President – September 30, 2019

We’re a community hospital.  To me, that means more than only caring for the community – we’re part of the community. I truly felt that sentiment this past Saturday as we hosted our second Rally in the Ravine.

Over 840 people rallied together to support North York General. Past and present patients, their families, hospital staff and people from the community all came together with an overwhelming sense of pride.

Going through the event checklist the night before kept a few of us awake!  Hundreds of people – check. Dollars raised – check. Wood oven pizza – check. Ninety per cent chance of rain – check! Many people must have been crossing their fingers with me because the rain stopped before the event and stayed away right until the end. It was remarkable!

Walking through the crowd, I can honestly say I was humbled knowing how hard our hundreds of supporters worked to fundraise over the past few months. And did they ever fundraise! Seventy-two different teams drove friendly competition. I’m pleased to announce that the Radiology Runners were our top fundraising team. And a big thank you to Foundation Governor Andrew Iu, who was our top individual fundraiser!

The night before the event, our supporters had raised an outstanding $227,000. We were almost at our $250,000 goal!

As a terrific start to the event, Dr. Tepper and I had the pleasure of announcing the largest individual gift in Rally in the Ravine history – a generous $25,000 donated from the Nanji Family Foundation.

And with that gift in place, I am thrilled to announce that we exceeded our fundraising goal and at this time, we have raised $255,216 – and it is still climbing!

I would like to thank Concord for joining us as our presenting sponsor for the second year in a row. Together we’ve created something special for our community and we’re proud to call you a partner.

I also want to thank our runners, walkers, donors, supporters and sponsors. You exemplify everything that’s great about our community – compassion, service and dedication. Together you raised funds that will improve care and save lives, right in your own backyard. Funds will be directed to redeveloping our Steinberg Family Paediatric Centre, addressing our most urgent needs throughout the hospital, and improving care for patients of the Gulshan & Pyarali G. Nanji Orthopaedic Centre. 

To everyone who helped make our second Rally in the Ravine such a success, your commitment to our hospital continues to inspire us and remind us of the special role we play in the North York community.

With warm regards,

Terry Pursell
President & CEO
North York General Foundation