The 19th Edition of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation Ball: A "magical evening" raising over $1,200,000 for sick children!

MONTREAL, May 18, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Generosity and emotion filled the air last night at the Windsor Station. Hundreds of business people, major philanthropists, and men and women who work tirelessly each day to help sick children enthusiastically accepted the Foundation's invitation to attend the 19^th edition of the Ball for the Children's.

Their commitment was clear: the event helped raise over $1,200,000, and our highest net revenue to date. The sum will be donated to the Healthy Kids Fund, allowing the hospital to purchase state-of-the-art medical and surgical equipment, provide ongoing training for staff and finance innovative projects.

Gaétan Barrette, Minister of Health and Social Services, as well as Deputy Premier Dominique Anglade, Minister of Economy, Science and Innovation, attended the event, brilliantly hosted by Gregory Charles.

Fun and emotion, in the name of sick children

Throughout the evening, the talented Gregory Charles charmed partygoers, who enjoyed refined dishes created by Derek Dammann (Maison Publique) and David McMillan (Joe Beef), the chefs behind the new McKiernan concept. But event guests also witnessed an emotional moment when Gregory Charles invited 12-year-old Jean-Gilles Gadoury onto the stage to sing "La Quête," popularized by the great French singer, Jacques Brel. For Jean-Gilles, a promising young actor and musician who was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia at the age of 9, it was a second chance at a missed opportunity: After the Children's music therapy program gave him back his will to live during his first battle with the disease, he was scheduled to sing a duo with the musician at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu's 350^th anniversary celebrations in 2016. However, a relapse cruelly sent him back to the Children's, where he had a second bone-marrow transplant. While still fragile, the young fighter's health has improved, and he now has an established career as a philanthropist for the Foundation. He continues to devote his energy to the hospital, who are proud to have such a remarkable ambassador.

Thanks

We want to thank the National Bank, CN, the Gustav Levinschi Foundation, Pfizer, Provigo, TD and TFI International, who helped carry on an important yearly tradition by sponsoring the Awards of Excellence, recognizing the exceptional contributions made by hospital staff and volunteers to help sick children and their families. Several members of the business community, most notably Assistenza International, Bell, CGI, Vézina Assurances and Wolf, Sub-Zero & Cove, responded to calls from the event's Honorary President, Sean Finn, Executive Vice-President Corporate Services and Chief Legal Officer of CN, by purchasing a Table of Innovation.

"On behalf of all members of our Foundation, I'd like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Mr. Finn and all the other sponsors for their commitment and incredible generosity," said Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation President, Renée Vézina. "I'd also like to highlight the indispensable contribution of the organizing committee, partners and volunteers, who worked together to make this evening an unprecedented success. They've set the bar high for the 20^th anniversary of this great Montreal event in 2019!"

ABOUT THE MONTREAL CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION

The mission of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation is to inspire and mobilize the community to support relentless innovation in research, teaching and care at the Montreal Children's Hospital, the pediatric teaching hospital for McGill University's Faculty of Medicine. Since its inception in 1973, the Foundation has raised over $428.5 million, which has transformed the lives of sick children through innovative research and teaching projects, and cutting-edge care. For more information, please visit childrenfoundation.com.

SOURCE The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation