RE/MAX agent inspired by hope
At the end of February, RE/MAX Hallmark agents Jillinda and Helga joined the Children’s Miracle Network team from SickKids at Momentum, the annual Children’s Miracle Network conference (which SickKids is a member hospital of).
Jillinda has been a proud supporter of SickKids and Children’s Miracle Network for years and knows first-hand the impact children’s hospitals can have on families. Her daughter, born in 1982 as a preemie, was treated at SickKids for a hernia at only a few months old (and at a weight of 4.5 pounds). As a premature baby, her daughter had to be given a blood transfusion to increase her red blood cells before undergoing surgery. Although it was under tense circumstances, Jillinda recalls how caring, understanding and supportive SickKids staff were during her daughter’s treatment. Her daughter grew up to be a healthy and confident child and is now married and living in London, England.
"it takes philanthropy to heal the world"
Champion Kids, they gather together from all over North America: Hawaii, Nevada, Ontario, British Columbia, Maine, New York, Newfoundland and Labrador to name just a few. Armed sometimes with oxygen tanks, steadied by canes, some in wheelchairs, these kids, their families and their healthcare teams have a message. Hope.
Their maladies are as diverse as their backgrounds, distant geographies and collective purpose. They strive to defy the odds with state of the art advancements in medicine, technology and stamina. Standing in unified strength, health and science researchers, professionals and practitioners’ align to care, nurture and hopefully cure their tenacious innocent patients.
At RE/MAX, a philanthropic goal has been to give generously and consistently through a volunteer at source commission cheque donation. Agents can option to have their company contribute a tax-deductible contribution directly to their local children’s hospital.
As a single mother, over twenty-five years ago, I made those arrangements. I have never noticed or missed my donations, yet on mass with others in the plan, a difference has been made.
Hope. I like to think of it as: Hospitals’, Organized, Potential, Earnings. It takes a village to raise a child, it takes philanthropy to heal the world.
