Hearth Place

Hi again and happy new year! I’m back with another update on the progress we made in the past year to improve the comfort of cancer patients … And — cue the drum roll — it’s been another stellar year for The Tory Day Fund.

You likely know by now that when we started the fund (a bunch of us gathered around the living room almost three years ago and just a few months after Tory’s death) we had a pretty modest goal: raise enough money to buy a bed at the Odette Cancer Centre so more people could rest comfortably while receiving chemotherapy.

And in that first year we were successful beyond our wildest expectations. Because of the generosity of Team Tory we raised more than $128,000 and were able to purchase not one, but SIXTEEN state-of-the-art chairs. We also funded a Patient Buddy Service to make the first visits of cancer patients at Odette a little less stressful.

In 2018? We picked up right where we left off. Year 2 is always the toughest year for any charity – the emotion wears off, other charities pull at the heartstrings and wallets of donors – but we persevered, raising almost $75,000! With that we brought our funds closer to home and filled a gap that Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre in Oshawa had with its children’s programs. Those programs are now funded so kids impacted by cancer have a place to get the support they need. It’s exactly what Tory would want us to do, without a doubt.

And that brings us to 2019, the third year for The Tory Day Fund. About that drum roll…

I’m thrilled to tell you, Team Tory, we raised $65,843.40!

• We did it because you continued to support Tory’s Night of Nonsense, and an incredibly generous group of people bought tickets, donated prizes, and made it yet another unforgettable night.
• We did it because so many made a personal donation to the fund – and some of you even make a monthly donation.
• We did it because Tory’s colleagues at IBM Canada continue to make The Tory Day Fund the beneficiary of their annual Employee Charitable Fund campaign.
• We did it because organizations like Sklar Peppler, La-Z-Boy, the Canadian Progress Club, organizers of the Merry Market at Winchester Golf Club, an auction organized by Sarah Lambert Photography, and even Tory’s nieces and nephew selling painted rocks at the cottage – all raised money to fulfill Tory’s wish.

After three years, we’ve raised a total of $267,600.50! Amazing. More than a quarter of a million dollars and way, way, way beyond our most ridiculous dreams. It truly gets me choked up thinking how you all made it happen.

With those funds, we’ll continue to buy more chairs as Odette needs them… We’ll continue to fund the Patient Buddy Service… We’ll continue to ensure kids at Hearth Place get the support they need and deserve.

And we’ll look for other ways we can make Tory’s wish come true. One area we’d love to fund – a way for more cancer patients to receive wigs like Tory had that preserve their dignity and give them the superpowers needed during treatment. Know of an organization that can make this happen? Please let me know!

So what else is in store for 2020?

This much I know: we’ll continue Tory’s wish however we can, and look for new ways to continue fundraising. For example we’re looking at partnering with a company that takes donated mobile phones and refurbishes them, and then sends the proceeds to The Tory Day Fund. This would give us a way to fundraise on an ongoing basis, rather than just with events like Tory’s Night of Nonsense. Stay tuned.

And coming up in the next couple months is a profile of The Tory Day Fund in The Globe and Mail! The Sunnybrook Foundation asked us to participate in a feature they’re producing with the paper, and we’re honoured to have Tory’s story read by its million-plus readers. I read an early draft of the article and it perfectly captures Tory’s spirit. I can’t wait for you to read it.

Other than that, I honestly don’t know what’s coming up. One of the most exciting parts of The Tory Day Fund is how creative Team Tory is, and opportunities to fundraise happen at a moment’s notice. I expect that 2020 will be no different.

Know that when they do, you’ll be the first to know.

And with that I thank you for making The Tory Day Fund happen for three incredible years. I’m blessed to have you in my life, I can’t thank you enough for the sense of purpose you’ve given me, Kate and Tory’s friends and family. I wish you only happiness and good health this year and always.

Jason.

I was visiting my Mom a couple weeks ago in the hospital, after she was admitted to deal with a complication from a recurrence of cancer. (She was diagnosed a month or so before Tory was in 2016.) She asked as she always did about the latest news about The Tory Day Fund, and I told her about all the great things we’re doing at Hearth Place and Sunnybrook, plus our plans for Tory’s Night of Nonsense.

“I still need to buy my tickets,” she said. She’s been among the first ticket buyers for each of the first two Nights of Nonsense.

“Mom, you focus on getting better. I know you’ll be there.”

I knew I’d see her walking in to Winchester this October as she has before with a big smile on her face, with one eye on me and the other on the bar. She’d look beautiful as always, and give me a big hug and tell me how proud she was of me and the team who make The Tory Day Fund happen.

She’d eat, have a few drinks, then hit the dance floor – showing her moves, along with my sister Lisa and anybody else she could cajole.

My mom left the hospital a few days after my visit and felt relief from this damn disease for a couple days after that. But then her pain and discomfort returned, and she was re-admitted to Woodstock Hospital.

Five days later she was gone. My beautiful, courageous, funny, kind, thoughtful, smart, giving Mom died on August 3.

I’ll save the tribute for another day. For now let me just say this:

I know my Mom isn’t the only person to die of cancer this year. Or even on that one day. It’s an insidious, merciless disease and you’ve all likely lost a loved one to cancer since Tory’s Night of Nonsense last year. And if you did, I’m sorry.

What you know then is how cancer rips even the tiniest amount of comfort away from those battling it. Try as we might to get warm blankets, a cup of tea, give a back rub – cancer fights against each of those efforts mightily.

That’s what kept my mom coming back each year to Tory’s Night of Nonsense. She knew firsthand how she and Tory had been denied the comforts they desperately needed, and the impact The Tory Day Fund has on cancer patients at Odette Cancer Centre and Hearth Place.

So if I can – I’ll ask that you buy your ticket for this year’s event for Tory. She’s the reason for the event, and the driving force behind all the goodness we’ve delivered. But also think of my mom, and how she fought like a girl throughout her battle with cancer.

And think of the others we’ve lost. It’s because of them, and the thousands of other cancer patients in Ontario, that we continue our fight to improve their comfort.

Thanks as always.

J.

xoxo

P.S. We’re adding an Early Bird Draw this year! Everyone buying a ticket by August 31 will be entered into a draw to win a fabulous prize.