Chai Lights 
December 2017 Issue
  

This past year has been a year of exceptional growth for Chai Lifeline Canada on many levels. From celebrating our tenth annual Sing for the Children concert honouring Toronto Mayor John Tory, to having our largest family support events ever; hosting almost 1000 people between two cities for Chanukah alone. Just this past month, Chai Lifeline Canada held its largest ever Go All In Casino Night, hosted over 600 people at our Fuel the Fire Gala in Montreal, and presented Dr. Mike Apkon CEO of The Hospital for Sick Children with the Maimonides Medical Award in New York. All this was going on while simultaneously arranging two city wide toy drives, planning two in-hospital Chanukah parties and two family Chanukah parties. As always, Chai Lifeline Canada continues to support over 600 families affected by serious illness through their daily lives providing no less then 150 support services weekly.
 
In 2017 hundreds of families and children in both Toronto & Montreal learned they do not have to fight their illness alone.
 
It is due to each of you, who have chosen to be a part of our community, that 2017 proved to be a phenomenal year for Chai Lifeline Canada.  

On behalf of the over 600 families affected by illness in your community, thank you for helping us fight illness with love!
 
Mordechai Rothman MA
Executive Director
Toronto  Highlights

What a year it's been indeed!

The work and dedication at Chai Lifeline never ceases. It's with the generosity of community members like you that enable us to continue to host events and weekly programs, camps and outings for each and every family living with illness. 

Here are just some of the highlights from this year that we at Chai Lifeline held for our kids and families: 

  • Meet & Greet with Toronto Maple Leafs Centreman, Zack Hyman
  • Annual Purim Party for over 350 kids & adults at Bais Yaakov Elementary
  • Mothers Day Massage in Yorkville with complimentary lunch & treats. 
  • Father's Day Blue Jays game
  • Weekly Shining Stars Respite Program for kids affected by illness at the Prossmernan JCC
  • Annual Cottage Day Family Event
  • Pirate Ship outing
  • Outdoor Summer Concert with Renowned Jewish Entertainer Benny Friedman 
  • Camp Lifeline Summer Camp - for kids who are immune compromised 
  • Hop Hop Jump Event
  • Annual Chanukah Holiday event at SickKids® Hospital was just held on December 19th. 
  • And, Countless tickets to concerts, sporting events and more!
Montreal Highlights

When we found out that a 5 year old cancer patient missed her sibling's wedding, we literally threw a second wedding so she could celebrate with her family!  Our Montreal office organized a party for over 170 people, who joined together with the bride, in her wedding dress, to dance the night away and celebrate with her sister.  Making it a most memorable and special night to never be forgotten.  

"One of a Kind" events in our community don't just come together. They happen because of community members, volunteers and families who want to make memories happen for all the sick kids in our community.  On November 28th, o ver 600 people joined together to bring hope to our Montreal warriors at our Fuel the Fire Gala.  Chaired by Melissa Assaraf & Sarah Golbert, the evening featured performances by our Chai warriors and recognized the outstanding achievements of Dr. Mitchell of the MUHC, Noah Weinstein and Lyse Luna Edery. 

Our annual Montreal Chanukah events are always something we look forward to. Thank you to all those who help, assisted and make the following possible:
  • Annual Chanukah Event at Rabbids Amusement Center for over 300 kids and their families. 
  • Our annual holiday toy drive partnered with CTV and The Spirit of Giving Campaign. Thank you to Aero Trading, Hasbro, Jack & Jill and the dozens of schools, synagogues, daycares and community organizations who helped us collect over 2,000 this holiday season for our warriors.  
  • Chai Lifeline volunteers came together to give out over 1,000 doughnuts to everyone at the Montreal Children's Hospital.  Doughnuts were graciously sponsored by Montreal bakeries Cheskie's, Pizza Gourmetti and Adar.
We look forward to another amazing year ahead filled with laughter, smiles and continued wishes granted! 

Riki Drazin, Naomi Hofman, Esther Malka Shaffer & Stu Guttman
Thank You to our Volunteers
a special message from our Volunteer Coordinators

As the year draws to a close, we are eager to reflect on the incredible work of our volunteers. We are constantly amazed by volunteers pitching in around the clock helping in so many different ways, from doing shifts at the hospital to relieving a family from a child's bedside, taking out families while their parent/sibling was in the hospital, driving family members to and from appointments, helping out with grocery shopping, running errands, and so much more.
 
For those of you that are regular Chai Lifeline volunteers, it may seem like we ask for so much all the time...and we do! In fact, if you have a successful hospital visit, our way of thanking you will likely be by asking you to do another visit, errand, or home respite. The reality is, we are blown away by each and every one of you, and we do not take your work for granted. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your commitment.
 
One of many examples that comes to mind when we think about a dedicated volunteer, is that of our incredible hospital volunteer Aliza*, who arrived to help out at our four hour Chanuka Party, after spending the whole night with one of our little girls in Sick Kids. This is just one instance.
 
Speaking of our Chanuka party, this year's event was truly mind blowing. Although most of us have been attending the Annual Chai Chanuka event for many years, it never seizes to amaze us. Over 600 people came out to enjoy an evening of amazing activities and entertainment, dinner, and of course, Chanukah presents!
 
While looking around the room, we noticed that many of our guests currently have children in the hospital. Some had just learned of devastating news the week before. Some have kids who haven't been able to go to school or anywhere for that matter due to illness or their fragile immune systems.(They were given early access to the party, all fun, no germs!) Some had just lost a child or parent in the past year, and many others had heartbreaking stories we should never know of. But Chai Lifeline allowed them to forget their pain for a few hours and just have fun.
 
It is our sincerest wish that the new year bring only health and good things for everyone. But it is comforting to know that we will always have a strong, dedicated army of people to call upon when we need it most. We truly could not do any of it without you!
Wishing you all a Happy 2018!
 
Sincerely,
Nechama, Lindsay & Naomi Hofman, Volunteer Coordinators
Toronto Fundraising 2018 Highlights: 

  • Jump4Chai held at Skyzone hosted 150 kids between the ages of 4 - 14 who raised over a whopping $83,000!        
  • Parlour Meeting featuring Rabbi Lieff was hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Shmulie Hauer
  • Go All In hosted over 400 guests who joined us at the Eglinton Grand, chaired by Albert Benudiz, Maureen Leshem and Nina Benlolo
  • Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon had a team of 22 runners Chai Lifeline Canada and raised over $14,000! 

Thank You to each and everyone of you who organized, chaired, partook or donated!

 

 

Thank You to our 2017 Chanukah Heroes
On behalf of Chai Lifeline Canada and it's families and staff we'd like to give a special Thanks to our 2017 Chanukah Heroes. This year "Heroes" were paired up with families who are living with illness. As each day goes by, there are times within a family dealing with illness, where there is no sign of hope and no light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks to our generous donors this year, Chai Lifeline families and kids were gifted with Special Chanukah wishes such as tickets to "Stars on Ice", Grease the Musical, LEGO, Tablets, Nintendo Switches and More! 

Thank you to the following 2017 Chanukah Heroes:   Adam & Joelle Schachter, Carrie Heller & Family of The Heller Group Legal and Executive Search, Bryna Kaplan & Dr. Danny Sapir & Family, Dov Sitnik, Fraiberg Family, Jane Knop & Family, Jennifer Apple & Family, Dr. Kayli Balaban & Family, Mercedes Benayon & Family, Elisa Benayon & Family, Moshe Tsherna, Robin Singer & Family, Sabrina Kaufman & Family, Stacey Moxley & Family, Rebbetzin Sarah Slavin and the womens auxilary of Chabad of Mississauga, Abraham & Moshe Tsherna of A&G The Road Cleaners Ltd. , LEGO Canada, Imports Dragon, Mattel Canada, Stortz Toys 
Team Lifeline Canada 

Our Team Lifeline Canada runners are getting ready to enjoy the Miami weather and gearing up for the Team Lifeline Miami Marathon on January 28, 2018. 

A HUGE thanks to our Vegas team.  Congratulations  to all our runners: Naomi Goldman, Yossi Ohayon, Bella Motzen, Moshe & Racheli Cohen, who participated in the Team Lifeline Vegas Marathon! Click  here  to relive the moments & memories. 

Thanks to our incredible Top Teams: Team Hope (Montreal) & Team Avi (Toronto). As of today, we have over 122 confirmed runners! Special shout outs to our top Canadian fundraisers who stop at nothing all for the kids:  DZ Silver, Ron Nussbaum, Eli Leibowitz, Daniel Gryfe, Tammy Israel, Jessica Kadoche, Shlomo Assayag, Jason Friedman and Eli Freedman. 
 
Thank you to our amazing Team Captains who provide encouragement, tips and advise along the way for new comers: Judy Mernick, Michael Bennaroch, Eli Leibowitz, Chevy Freund and Zack Steinlauf. 
Chai Lifeline NYC Gala honours Dr. Michael Apkon
We celebrated our relationship with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto by presenting Dr. Michael Apkon with the Maimonides Medical Achievement Award. 

Team Lifeline
Our Team Lifeline members are training hard both physically and working to surpass unbelievable fundraising goals. As of today we have 122 runners confirmed! 

Volunteer Today
The work you do and the the impact it can have on a sick kid can make the world of difference. 

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