“When we all come together to support the Children’s young patients, everyone is a winner!” – P.K. Subban, spokesperson for Helping Hands, Montreal Children’s Foundation
The Montreal Children’s Hospital treats young patients and needless to say is always looking for new ways to encourage the public to support its mission of helping sick children and their families. The Children’s already has a reputation for excellent care, state-of-the-art medical technologies, and top-notch expertise. Thanks to its dedicated team of healthcare professionals and staff the hospital is recognized worldwide as a truly caring pediatric facility. However, the Children’s Foundation decided that it was time to give the venerable institution an image makeover to better connect with youthful priorities and needs in today’s world. Voila! A new identity and message were born: Heal. Love. Bond.
These three words – heal, love, bond – are “both simple and charged with meaning for sick children and their families,” says Rebecca Valade of Citoyen Optimum an outreach partner of the Children’s. These three pillars represent a social approach to pediatric healthcare emphasizing the cooperation of patients, medical staff, and donors in healing sick children as a whole. The recent campaign to increase awareness about the Children’s crucial work in acute, as well as long-term care, is the brainchild of Cosette, an innovative marketing and branding agency collaborating with the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
P.K. Subban is an official spokesperson for the Montreal Children’s Foundation and a major donor and fundraiser. The former Canadien defenceman has committed to raising $10M for the Children’s Hospital. The Children’s named its atrium in his honor after he made what the health-care facility described as “the biggest philanthropic commitment by a sports figure in Canadian history.” The city’s favorite Hab was the star attraction at a recent Halloween party at the hospital much to the kids’ delight. “The objective of the Halloween campaign “L’Halloween – c’est malade” (a humorous play on words in French) was first and foremost “to bring joy to children in long-term care, considering they can’t go out of the hospital to celebrate,” says Noemie de Rothschild of Citoyen Optimum.
P.K.’s Helping Hand at the Children’s Foundation is a fund dedicated to assisting vulnerable families financially devastated by a child’s illness. Having a sick child often means one parent has to stop working, which puts a financial burden on the whole family. P.K.’s Helping Hand is dedicated to making sure that these parents don’t have to worry about paying for necessities like food and medicine and can instead focus on what’s most important: helping their child get well.
“Regarding the (overall) financial objectives, the aim was to collect funds for the children at the hospital in order to fund the hospital and better the patient’s well-being,” says de Rothschild. “In 2017-18 the Foundation managed to collect $25.7 M.” The increased funding translates into tangible benefits for sick children Valade says. Heal, love, bond, are not just three words but “three outcomes.”
Any high-profile event such as P.K. Subban’s special appearance not only raises money in the short term but also raises the hospital’s profile in the long term creating a positive cycle. Other fun-themed events are “made possible through the support of very generous donors,” Valade says. This is the case all year-round and especially during the holidays when the hospital seeks the aid of clowns, Santa impersonators, etc. to make these moments more enjoyable for the children de Rothschild says. A happy child and hopefully a happy outcome.
Heal. Love. Bond. – A new model of community-based healing at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. What’s not to love?
https://fondationduchildren.com
