Community collaborations have always been embraced by Four All Ice Cream, a Waterloo-based scoop shop offering handcrafted ice cream made from all-natural, locally-sourced ingredients to provide a better choice for ice cream lovers who want to indulge in a sweet treat without compromise to their well-being. And their collaboration and partnership with Grand River Hospital Foundation has made a significant impact on well-being in our community in more ways than one: Over the past two years, Four All Ice Cream has raised more than $6,000 for Mental Health, Cancer Care and the Blue Ribbon Fund at Grand River with their custom, limited time flavour, Our Heroes Eat Ice Cream.

Featuring the works of Catherine Mellinger, Claire Donnison, Esther Slevinsky, Jim Blomfield, Michael ManChoi Chow, Roshan James, and Roslyn Ramsay, the Hearts, Arts and Healing art show is about how artists express trauma and the healing power of the artistic practice and results. Art pieces can be viewed online and purchased from our website, and a portion of the proceeds from these purchases will support Mental Health at Grand River Hospital.

Spending time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) can be a challenging experience for babies and their families—that’s why the Sandra Schmirler Foundation is committed to giving them the chance to be champions. Last year, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation generously funded two cardiorespiratory monitors for Grand River Kids to help ensure that our care teams can provide critical monitoring for our smallest and youngest patients.

On Sunday, February 19th, you can support their life-changing work by participating in the Sandra Schmirler Foundation’s Telethon at 1-866-210-6011. Phone lines will be open from 8:30am to 10:30pm PT (11:30am - 1:30am ET). Donations can also be made at any time on their website, www.sandraschmirler.org.

Seven local artists are exhibiting their work in the upcoming Hearts, Arts and Healing art show presented by Art$Pay. The show is about how artists express trauma and the healing power of the artistic practice and results and features the work of Catherine Mellinger, Claire Donnison, Esther Slevinsky, Jim Blomfield, Michael ManChoi Chow, Roshan James, and Roslyn Ramsay.

Brides helping brides is the motto of Gina’s Closet, a local not for profit retail store dedicated to giving back in our community by raising money for cancer research and care. While the volunteers at Gina’s Closet may come from all walks of life, they all have two important things in common: their lives have all been touched by cancer in some way, and they have a strong desire to help others and give back. Since 2014, the dedicated group of more than 20 volunteers who run Gina’s Closet have raised an incredible total of more than $45,000 for the Waterloo Wellington Breast Centre at Grand River Hospital.

February is Black History Month, and at Grand River, we recognize and celebrate the contributions of Black Canadians in shaping our country and our health care system. We proudly acknowledge and recognize the past and present contributions of our Black team members, made up of staff, physicians and volunteers, while also acknowledging that there is still much work to be done.

Victoria M. was the lucky winner of January’s 50/50 lottery jackpot, taking home an astounding $18,225!

“I buy the tickets to help the hospital. I never bought them to win,” Victoria noted. “I wanted to help, but I don’t have a lot of money. But I can afford $50 a month, and then when you see what it buys, it’s amazing! That every little bit helps. And I want the services there for everybody I know when they need them.”

The Concordia Club Treffpunkt Group embodies the spirit of camaraderie and community with their generous dedication to giving back and their engagement in our local community. Beyond their social gatherings and ongoing involvement in the Concordia Club’s events and activities, including Oktoberfest, this group within the Club also manages the Club’s Partners for Life blood donation group and donates money and gifts-in-kind to two charities every year. This year, the Concordia Club Treffpunkt Group generously chose to donate the incredible $1,310 they raised from their annual bottle drive to the Waterloo Wellington Breast Centre at Grand River Hospital.

Together we can achieve more than we ever could apart, which is why we are excited to celebrate the success of our joint MRI fundraising campaign with St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation to date. 

Thanks to the outpouring of support from our incredible community, we are in the home stretch of our joint campaign to raise $10 million for two additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines for our community. These scanners are an important investment that will alleviate long wait times for MRI services and allow patients in our community to receive their scans faster and closer to home.

One in five Canadians will experience mental illness each year, and the remaining four in five will know and love someone who does. And while so much progress has been made, there is still more that needs to be done. Too many people are struggling, and too many are not getting the help they need. The onset of the pandemic and the subsequent challenges of the last three years have impacted our mental health in a critical way.

When you support Grand River Hospital Foundation, your impact reaches far beyond Grand River Hospital. Our health system is interconnected in so many ways, so coming together in support of local health and wellness as a whole is an important part of our vision for a world class health system right here.

Grand River Hospital Foundation is a sponsor of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce’s Physician Recruitment Program, and with the help and support of our community and their sponsors, the program successfully recruited 14 family physicians over past year who have made full time, part time and locum practice commitments in Kitchener-Waterloo.

Albert’s Last Wish: Helping People in the Community

with biographical excerpts written by Marianne Bohl and David H. Smith

Albert and Giselle Volker always wanted to support people and make a difference in their lives. They generously contributed to numerous charities in their lifetime, and Albert’s last wish was to help the people in the Kitchener-Waterloo community where he and Giselle lived for 25 years. He chose to make that wish come true by leaving a gift in his Will to Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital in support of their joint MRI campaign.