Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences:

The Jordana’s Rainbows Foundation is a registered Canadian, not-for-profit charitable organization in honour of Jordana Fiorini. We are raising awareness and research monies for childhood cancer – with a specific focus on DIPG. Our mission is to change the face of childhood cancer and help find a cure for DIPG. The Jordana’s Rainbows Foundation works closely with The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada. As of April 2019, and in under four years, we have raised just over $1,530,000 towards this effort.

What problem does it aim to solve?

Change the face of childhood cancer and help find a cure and raise awareness for DIPG.

When did you start/join it?

2016

What made you want to get involved?

Jordana’s Rainbows was created to honour my daughter, Jordana Fiorini. Jordana received her angel wings on January 22, 2016, she was only 10 years old. After experiencing some severe headaches and partial facial paralysis Jordana was diagnosed with DIPG at SickKids in September 2015. DIPG, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), is an inoperable brain tumour that affects children in the early years of their life and has a survival rate of six to nine months. Jordana survived DIPG for only four months. While her life on earth was tragically cut short, her divine presence was soon realized through Jordana’s Rainbows. Jordana’s Rainbows shares Jordana’s kindness, love and rainbows worldwide while raising awareness and funds for childhood cancer research – with a specific focus on DIPG.

What more needs to be done?

DIPG makes up 10-15% of all brain tumours in children and is the leading cause of brain tumour death.

Unfortunately, there has been little to no progression in research or treatments for this disease in the last 40 years and causes still remain unknown and we need to change that. Every year 30 children in Canada are diagnosed with DIPG, with about 300 cases per year in the United States alone. Jordana’s Rainbows raises awareness and funds for DIPG.

Where can we follow you?

Website | Facebook

PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?

Gerry and Nancy Pencer Brain Trust

The post Charitable Choices: Alison Fiorini, Co-Founder of Jordana’s Rainbows Foundation appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.

Wellspring is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that provides a wide range of supportive care programs and services, at no charge, and without a referral, to anyone, with any cancer, at any stage in their journey. Wellspring centres are located across Canada and the organization just launched a new national online centre accessible to all members.

What problem does it aim to solve?

Wellspring programs help people overcome the many and often overwhelming emotional, physical, practical, and financial challenges they face following a cancer diagnosis. All of Wellspring’s programs are led by professionals all of whom have a background in cancer patient
support. The programs have been researched, developed, tested, and proven to help patients, their caregivers and family members both manage and elevate their quality of life and strengthen their minds and bodies. The hallmark of Wellspring is its focus on the individual, not the
illness, and that all who reach out to Wellspring are cared for in a safe community of compassion, expertise, respect, and comfort.

When did you start/join it?

I joined Wellspring in February 2013.

What made you want to get involved?

The main reason I wanted to get involved, was due to my own experience with cancer and my personal interest in this type of work as I am a cancer survivor and have had several leadership roles through my 25-year career in the charitable sector. I have known for a long time that
Wellspring is considered the gold standard in Canada for community-based cancer support and was privileged to have the opportunity to take the reins of this incredible organization.

What was the situation like when you started?

Wellspring was founded in 1992, and over the years, it has grown and evolved organically from its humble beginnings with just one centre in downtown Toronto. Over the past 30 years with the incidence of cancer rising in Canada and the fact that more people are now surviving, we are seeing a growing need for our services. I was pleased to join the organization as I saw it as an ideal time to find new ways of strategically growing our reach and mission.

How has it changed since?

We now have 10 physical Wellspring centres located across Canada, and we also have a robust virtual program centre called Well on the Web, which allows Canadians affected by cancer to access our unique programs and services no matter where they are located. We are
now providing care for people from coast to coast as well as internationally. We have also developed many partnerships with national cancer organizations and numerous local and provincial organizations.

What more needs to be done?

We would like to let every Canadian living with cancer know, that Wellspring is here to help them, their caregivers, and their loved ones. They do not need to navigate these challenges alone. We are here to offer compassionate and dependable support and most important, programs and services that address the specific needs of those affected by cancer.

How can our readers help?

When friends and family are diagnosed with cancer, let them know about Wellspring. The hospitals and cancer centres do an excellent job at treating the disease, but Wellspring helps with everything in life that changes because of the disease. Wellspring receives no government
or hospital funding and relies solely on donations from individuals, corporations, and proceeds from special events, so donations are always needed and certainly welcomed.

Do you have any events coming up?

Light Up Wellspring is an annual holiday celebration that serves to brighten the lives of individuals living with cancer. This year, people can purchase ornaments hung on Trees of Hope outside our Toronto and Oakville centres. Then, early in December, the communities are invited to attend the tree and house-lighting ceremonies. At this time, because of the pandemic, all other events have been postponed.

Where can we follow you?

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?

In place of gift-giving this year, why not make a tribute donation to the charity of your choice in honour of a loved one. The pandemic has resulted in financial challenges for all Canadian charities, and your gifts of support would be greatly appreciated this holiday season.

The post Charitable Choices: Christina Smith, CEO of Wellspring appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Describe your charity/non-profit in a few sentences.

Look Good Feel Better is dedicated to providing women and teens facing cancer with the support they need to manage the appearance-related effects of cancer and its treatment. Our workshops provide participants the tools and techniques to help them feel better and get closer to the person they were before their diagnosis. We are very proud that we typically serve up to 10,000 women each year.

In light of COVID-19, we have moved online. We’re definitely excited for the day when it’s safe to reopen our in-person workshops; but shifting online has given us the opportunity to reach women and teens from across Canada in rural and remote communities, as well as towns and cities that do not offer a workshop.

What problem does it aim to solve?

Wellness is a term that goes far beyond medical treatment. We use the broader, psycho-social definition of health that incorporates mental, emotional, social and spiritual well-being. It is not just about the diagnosis, but the person as a whole.

Approximately fifty percent of Canadian women are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. Look Good Feel Better’s workshops are geared to supporting the appearance-related effects of cancer, providing women and teens with the skills and tools to make them feel like themselves again.

As everyone is learning to adapt to a new level of normal, teenagers facing cancer have to think about their lives in an entirely different perspective. Like Sarah Issa, many of our workshop attendants are either in isolation at home or in the hospital and our workshops aim to provide young women with a sense of community and a support system.

When did you start/join it?

I joined Look Good Feel Better almost 3 years ago.

What made you want to get involved?

There are so many reasons why I was excited to become part of the Look Good Feel Better team. I’d been aware of the organization since I was young because the Look Good Feel Better magazine would always be delivered to my house. And later, I knew many women who had attended the workshop and got so much out of it – my mother-in-law, my neighbour and two friends. I love that we are unique – there is no other organization in Canada that does what we do – yet we’re part of a global movement with Look Good Feel Better in 26 other countries across the world. And our volunteers are amazing – with 1200 of them across the country. Many have been with us from day one – that’s 29 years ago!!

What was the situation like when you started?

I love our history and consistency in delivering this fabulous workshop for women across the country. But, we are also able to be flexible and nimble to meet the changing needs of our communities. We recently added a breast care specific workshop to help women learn about breast forms and garment options for post-surgery — helping them return to their favourite activities and feel like themselves again while doing so.

Last year, we worked with a team of volunteers and a group of young women to relaunch our teen workshop because we wanted to make sure we were offering topics and activities that teenage women facing cancer would be interested in participating in.

How has it changed since?

In light of the pandemic, we moved the workshops online. They’ve been such a positive experience for so many women that when we’re able to re-open the in-person workshops, we will continue to offer online workshops. It allows us to reach women and teens in communities where we currently don’t offer in-person workshops. It also allows women who cannot get to their local workshop for other reasons like childcare or transportation to join virtually.

What more needs to be done?

Most cancer-related programs focus on medical treatment, which leaves a widening gap in providing psycho-social and well-being support.

At Look Good Feel Better, we are constantly looking for new ways to connect with our community and expand our reach within Canada. This year, we launched online workshops, expanded our breast care programming, and further developed our volunteer capacity training so that we can continue to deliver the best care and programs to women facing cancer. And when it is safe to do so, re-opening our workshops will take a bit of time as well.

How can our readers help?

If you know someone who is facing cancer who would benefit from our workshops, please encourage them to sign up and participate. All of our workshops are now available online.

Alternatively, Canadians can make a monetary donation online. Donations help keep our workshops running — from the volunteers that lead the workshops to the materials we send to our participants — a donation of any amount makes such a difference.

Do you have any events coming up?

The next online teen workshop is on December 13th from 2-3:15 p.m. EST. Interested teens and their parents can visit here to learn more and reserve a spot.

Where can we follow you?

You can follow us on Instagram at @lgfbcanada or Twitter @LGFBCanada

PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome Toronto charity that you love?

The Toronto Community Foundation is a really unique organization that has an incredible pulse on what is going on in the city and brings like-minded charities, donors and change-makers together to create some great impact!

The post Helping Women and Teens with Cancer Look Good Feel Better appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Describe your charity/non-profit in a few sentences.

Carley’s Angels is a charitable organization founded in honour of the late Carley Elle Allison. We are working to unite traditional and holistic cancer care in hospitals while spreading Carley’s message of “always smile”

What problem does it aim to solve?

We are aiming to solve 3 problems that lead directly to how we created our mission and why we do what we do.
1. Holistic and alternative cancer care is an extremely expensive out of pocket cost
2. Holistic and alternative cancer care isn’t available in hospitals
3. Patients and parents of patients should not be responsible for, and are not qualified to combine their own traditional and holistic cancer care treatment plan

When did you start/join it?

We started Carley’s Angels in 2015.

What made you want to get involved?

Carley was my little sister. Watching the challenges she was facing with her very rare cancer diagnosis and watching our parents struggle to create this integrative cancer care approach made us realize that something needed to be done. We were fortunate to have so many friends in the medical field and the resources to ensure Carley received all the holistic and traditional treatments she needed.

But not all cancer patients get to exhaust all the options, they don’t all get to hope.

What was the situation like when you started?

My family, (mom, dad, younger sister (Samantha), and Carley’s boyfriend (John)), started Carley’s Angels. It was a small, family focused initiative on continuing the legacy of our girl.

How has it changed since?

Since then we’ve kept the family ideal at the core. No we aren’t all blood related but we might as well be, our community is the Carley’s Angels Family. And we still work to ensure Carley’s legacy has a profound impact on the lives of others.

We now have an international following, we fund a $150,000 program at SickKids in Toronto, raised over $700,000, and have paid staff members!

What more needs to be done?

In 2019 we funded the first Psychosocial Oncology fellowship at sickkids, a cancer car program with holistic methods at the core, a first for SickKids. But this is just the beginning of bridging the gap between the worlds of holistic cancer care and traditional cancer care to one day encompace it all, in what will just be called cancer care.

How can our readers help?

You can help by heading to our website! From there you can donate, shop, get involved, volunteer or participate in one of our events!

If you’re interested in learning about our Angel. There is a movie on Netflix about her story, Kiss & Cry. And her viral blog she kept during her cancer journey is now a book, “Always Smile: Carley Allison’s Secrets to Laughing, Loving, and Living,

Do you have any events coming up?

We do! We are currently running an online cover competition called Raise Her Voice where participants cover one of Carley’s Original songs for the chance to win a Calrey’s Angels prize pack and have a donation of $500 made to the music therapy program of their choice!

Learn more, enter or vote here

Where can we follow you?

You can follow us on Facebook (@carleysangels.ca) , Instagram (@carleysangels) or Join our Mailing List.

PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?

Mental health is a key component of holistic cancer care and it’s one of the main focuses of our funded program at SickKids, Psychosocial Oncology. And while we are focusing on cancer patients always, we think everyone right now could use a mental health resource!

So our shoutout is Jack.org. And organization championing youth mental health.

The post Chartiable Choices: Inspiring Integrative Cancer Care with Carley’s Angels appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Describe your charity/non-profit in a few sentences.

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national, community-based organization of staff and volunteers whose mission is the eradication of cancer and the enhancement of the quality of life of people living with cancer. Dry Feb is a fundraiser that challenges participants to go alcohol-free in February to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. It helps you get healthy and clear your head while also raising funds for an important cause. Having a month off alcohol also has great health benefits, such as sleeping better, having more energy and of course, no hangovers! So, you’re not only helping others, you’re helping yourself. It’s a win-win!

What problem does it aim to solve?

Drinking any type of alcohol increases your risk of head and neck, breast, stomach, pancreatic, colorectal and liver cancers. Yet only 1/3 of Canadians are aware that there is a link between alcohol and an increased risk of cancer. Dry Feb aims to educate and empower Canadians to take action to protect themselves while supporting a great cause.

When did you start/join it?

Dry Feb is an online third-party fundraiser run by Clear Heads International, an organization which has run similar “go alcohol-free for a month” fundraisers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand which have raised more $30 million dollars for cancer charities in these countries. The Canadian Cancer Society is the sole charitable beneficiary of the Dry Feb campaign in Canada and have been official partners since 2016.

What made you want to get involved?

Realizing the increased cancer-risk associated with drinking alcohol is alarming for many. Simply taking a month off alcohol also presents many immediate health benefits like Increased energy levels, higher productivity, improved concentration, clearer skin and not to mention, saving money. Pairing those benefits with the opportunity to support such a worthwhile cause and organization made it an easy decision to participate in Dry Feb.

What was the situation like when you started?

Dry Feb started in 2016 as an Ontario regional program with fewer than 1,000 participants and raised over $45,000 in its first year. The program was expanded to nationwide shortly after and this year we already have over 13,000 Canadians participating in Dry Feb across Canada.

How has it changed since?

Last year, Dry Feb raised more than $600,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. This year, we hope to raise $1,000,000 and increase our participation nationwide!

What more needs to be done?

In general, Canadians need to be more aware of the increased cancer-risk associated with alcohol consumption. The more people who participate in Dry Feb and spread the word through their own fundraising, the more that awareness will grow all while helping the Canadian Cancer Society to fund vital research and support for those affected by cancer.

How can our readers help?

That’s an easy one – they can participate or donate! Visit DryFeb.ca to register today and if you’re not feeling up for the challenge this year, you can also donate to support the cause via the Dry Feb website. Every dollar makes a difference in helping to fund groundbreaking research and delivering Canada’s largest cancer support system dedicated to helping people affected by cancer.

Do you have any events coming up?

In addition to Dry Feb, the Canadian Cancer Society hosts numerous events and fundraisers throughout the year – from Relay For Life, to the CIBC Run for the Cure, and Daffodil Campaign. For more information on these and other events visit cancer.ca

Where can we follow you?

You can follow the Canadian Cancer Society on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

You can also follow Dry Feb on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

The post Charitable Choices: Dry February with The Canadian Cancer Society appeared first on Toronto Guardian.