28th annual Miracle Weekend brings in $18.8 million for BC Children's Hospital

VANCOUVER, May 31, 2015 /CNW/ - BC Children's Hospital Foundation raised a record $18,804,361 for BC Children's Hospital during the 28^th annual Miracle Weekend, hosted by Global BC TV on May 30-31. Miracle Weekend events have raised $261 million for the hospital since the first Miracle Weekend was held in 1988. Save-On-Foods was recognized as the largest Miracle Weekend contributor, bringing in over $2.8 million. The 30^th annual ChildRun, also on May 31, set a record for attendance, with 6,910 participants, and raised $1 million. Chip and Shannon Wilson contributed $100,000 to ChildRun by providing a $1,000 donation for each of the first 100 participants to raise $1,000 or more.

"Every single gift made to BC Children's Hospital has an impact on thousands of lives," said Allen Bordeleau, BC Children's Hospital Miracle Weekend chair. "As donors and volunteers, we work hard to support BC Children's Hospital because children in every corner of BC and the Yukon deserve to have access to the very best in specialized care, and only BC Children's can provide that."

Miracle Weekend is the culmination of fundraising efforts throughout the year by literally hundreds of diverse groups. Events include everything from school fundraisers to golf tournaments to black-tie galas. The hospital receives support from employee groups in financial services, retail, mining, technology, professional associations, construction and real estate, hospitality and restaurants, forestry and others, and members of Children's Hospital's employee family. Annual events, such as Jeans Day™, Slo-Pitch, ChildRun, and the 98.5 The OCEAN (Victoria) radiothon contributed to the total.

The 11-hour Miracle Weekend telethon was broadcast on Global BC – ending with the announcement of the total at 5:30 pm on Sunday. The Chinese-Canadian telethon and radiothon, airing on Fairchild TV, CHMB AM1320 and Fairchild Radio AM1470 on May 29-30, contributed $740,000 to the total. The retail sector, one of many industry groups participating, made the largest contribution from a business group in the 28-year history of Miracle Weekend: $6.6 million.

"Miracle Weekend reflects an incredible commitment by individuals and organizations in BC and the Yukon. We are deeply grateful for their support," said Teri Nicholas, president and CEO of BC Children's Hospital Foundation. "The donors who support Miracle Weekend, whether they are individuals or large corporations, are doing something incredible for their friends, their families, their neighbours, their colleagues and people they'll never meet, because a sick child really does affect everyone."

Donations to Miracle Weekend are used to support the purchase of life-saving equipment, research into the treatment, prevention and cure of childhood diseases, recruitment and educational programs for caregivers, and programs in communities throughout the province.

About BC Children's Hospital
BC Children's Hospital is the province's only full-service acute-care hospital dedicated to serving close to one million children living in BC and the Yukon. All children who are seriously ill or injured are referred to Children's Hospital and are either treated at the hospital facility in Vancouver or, with consultation from Children's specialists, in their home community. Last year, more than 84,000 children were treated at Children's Hospital. In 2014-15 BC Children's Hospital Foundation received donations from more than 118,000 people and had revenues of $96.2 million. Funds raised by the foundation are used to support BC Children's Hospital, Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and the Child & Family Research Institute. For more information visit www.bcchf.ca and follow @BCCHF on Twitter.

SOURCE BC Children's Hospital Foundation

Stephen Forgacs, Director, Communications, BC Children's Hospital Foundation, Mobile: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]