My 2023 Birthday Wish for CHEO
We DID it! We have now collectively given over eleven thousand dollars worth of gifts to kids receiving in patient treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario aka CHEO! Thank you for helping me celebrate my birthday every spring with such a kind gesture. You ROCK!
Thank you all so much for your kindness - I was able to really celebrate turning 37 with this years edition of the Birthday Wish campaign. Every spring, I promote giving a gift to a kid receiving in patient treatment at CHEO through their Child Life department.
I started this in 2019, raising over $1,000 in this first year. This helped me set a baseline for future goals… For example, I double that to around 2.5k in 2020… 5k in 2021 and 7.5k in 2022. This year I went BIG with a dream of hitting 10k and…
Well…
Words cannot describe how special this is - you are giving sunshine on a cloudy day. I still have some of the things I was given (by surprise) while living at CHEO. Just ask my husband, Ryan, why we have SO MANY BLANKETS! Blankets, activity books, craft kids and more; your money buys a gift to a child, age 0 through 18, who is receiving in patient treatment at the hospital.
This is an ONGOING fundraiser; as long as I am around to celebrate my birthday, any person who wishes to, will be able to give a gift to a kid in hospital.
CLICK HERE to learn about CHEO’s Child Life department.
CLICK HERE to learn about other ways to give & perhaps start your own fundraiser.
I will be moving the goalpost to 12.5k for 2024 - and if we hit that, it means that in six years we’ve given approximate 500 gifts! As it stands, for the fifth year of us doing this, we’ve given a mighty impressive 455 gifts!
REMINDER: You can donate at any time towards this fundraiser. Some people choose to give on their own birthdate, or in honour of someone special. All proceeds will always go towards CHEO’s Child Life dept. who do important work for not only the little patients but their families, too.
Mid April Update
Back at work for my second week after having COVID. Seems the whole family is in good health now and I haven’t personally noticed any lingering symptoms or issues. Looking forward to meeting my new rheumatologist (rheumatoid arthritis specialist) next week (!!!) so there may be a few days of ‘wonky schedules’ to get through at the radio station. I’m thankful for the support I have and continue to receive at work regarding my health issues. Gotta take care of this body and this life while I’ve got it!
BIG NEWS: My birthday wish for the kids at CHEO is getting a signal boost from my radio station. For the next week or so, you’ll hear ads encouraging donations for the hospital’s child life department - they then give gifts to kids receiving in patient treatment. Something I’m very familiar with. This is my biggest cause that I love to support. If you’d like to contribute, please CLICK HERE.
COTTAGE NEWS: Some major expenses are on the immediet horizon, like: new chimney, water line (well & pump) corrections and a visit from our local neighbourhood exterminator! Woohoo! Now, before you judge me for hiring pest control LET IT BE KNOWN that I’m hoping to only have one inaccessible area of the cabin cleared out; the nightly scratch-scratch-scratching behind the head of my bed (in the wall) has GOT to stop! I’m not going murder-happy on the local fauna.
We’re hoping to get the cabin ready for guests earlier than May 24 weekend, so if you’re a pal & want to book some time at the lake - get in touch! Someone’s gotta help me pay these bills!
If you’re reading this, I hope you had a wonderful easter weekend. Sunny days ahead!
My 35th Birthday Wish for CHEO Kids!
My 35th birthday is April 25th and I’m hoping you’ll give a gift to a child in treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario aka CHEO to help me celebrate. We’ve been doing this since 2018 and my goal for 2021 is to hit $5,000. Will you help?
Please give a gift to a child in treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario this April.
If you’re in my family or friend circle and you’d typically treat ME for my birthday, the best gift I could receive that really lets me know that you’re thinking of me comes in the form of a financial donation to CHEO’s Child Life department.
All proceeds go to providing a child (ages 0-18) in hospital with a new toy, game, book, art supply kit and other forms of entertainment (escape) while undergoing treatment.
In previous years, you’ve been able to swing by the radio station or a tour, a chat and a photo (sometimes even a hug or a hi-5). Unfortunately, in person donations are postponed until we can all safely gather again.
Here are some photos from my Birthday Wish:
To be totally transparent, this fundraiser is ongoing. I started it in 2018 and promote it every year during my birth month (April). I want to make it as financially accessible as possible for those who wish to give a gift to a child who could use the distraction. In my personal experience as a CHEO Kid (which runs deep; from 1988 to 2003), many children who spend a large amount of time as ‘in patients’ (receiving treatment that requires them to essentially live in a hospital room) don’t have a lot of options in terms of NEW gifts, books, toys that are JUST for them. Many come from socioeconomically challenged or disadvantaged homes and YOUR generosity makes a massive, life changing impact.
As I age, the urgency to let children with rare diseases or crummy circumstances know that there is hope for a brighter future rises. If I was a millionaire and able to donate in a massive way, I’d probably still be asking you to contribute to the Child Life Department because awareness and acceptance is part of the giving process.
I have spoken about my disease in detail before but if you have any questions that aren’t answered in these posts below, please feel free to reach out.
Here’s a recent video I created to explain Autoimmune Diseases in an easy to understand way:
Birthday Wish for CHEO
Last year I was inspired to dedicate my birthday to kids in treatment at CHEO. I know how long and boring those days can be in isolation - I think we can all relate, too, on some level thanks to this outbreak.
This year, things will be a little different. Yes. I’m still getting older on the 25th. Yes. There are still a lot of children, from babies to teens, receiving life saving (and life altering) treatment in hospital. Many are confined to small, isolated rooms. Some are cut off from their friends and family. Others have to miss out on normal kid stuff because they are sick.
To help make their day a little brighter, I decided to direct any and all attention from myself to them.
Were you going to buy me a card? Were you thinking of taking me out for lunch, dinner, a pint or a coffee? Were you maybe going to gift me a scratch card or cold hard cash (a classic granny move)?
If you answered ‘yes’ or ‘I was thinking of maybe doing that’. First, thank you! Second, please throw that money here:
This is my second year doing this for the kids and, working with the CHEO Foundation, I have made sure 100% of the proceeds go directly to FUN! Art supplies, craft kits, toys, stuffies, movies and other sources of entertainment.
Last year, I was blown away with all the support and gifts given for the kids. This year, I will not be accepting any physical donations in person. I do want to see the faces of those who ARE giving though, so please send me selfies of you with your BIGGEST smiles alongside any messages you wish to give to children in treatment.
This campaign will last the entire month of April. Please help me spread the word for our young friends self-isolating at our wonderful CHEO.