The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given $7 million to  benefit women across the province.

Researchers working at the Child & Family Research Institute will use the funds to test new strategies for the monitoring, prevention, and treatment of pre-eclampsia, a medical condition in which high blod pressure arises in pregnancy.

“Hypertensive disorders, or high blood pressure, complicate five to 10 percent of pregnancies and can lead to serious maternal and fetal illness or death. Pre-eclampsia, the most serious of these disorders, is the second leading cause of maternal death worldwide, resulting in up to 76,000 maternal deaths each year,” UBC said in a news release today.

The “Geeks”

H2OGeeks was founded and formed on Twitter, but they’ve grown to become more than just a bunch of social media nerds. What began as a group of strangers has turned into a community of friends, siblings, parents and coworkers. The geeks have opened up membership to anyone who wants to paddle with them.

An interview with co-founder Aidan McGilveray:

“Last year, when the team was first formed, Kimm Mitchell and myself did lots of online promoting through Twitter and Facebook. Kimm is a veteran dragon boater (15+ years and counting) and she heard about Paddle for Kids through the grape vine in the paddling community.

What drew the geeks together and toward Paddle for Kids was the drive to learn something new, meet new friends, and, of course, do good by helping BC’s sick and injured children and their families. What more can you really ask for?

This year the team is looking for a few,new members. Our boat is still not full! We will have a drop in practice session for people interested in joining in the next few weeks. Drop in fees will be donated to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.”

Learn more about the H20Geeks here: http://h2ogeeks.wordpress.com/

You can also follow the team on Twitter here: @h2oGeeks or @paddlinggeek

Michael Bublé

The Campaign for BC Children is a $200-million initiative to support the construction of a new BC Children’s Hospital and to enhance medical services for children throughout the province. And if you were lucky enough to attend the concert, you would have heard Bublé speak to the campaign:

“They are really inspirational people, and the doctors and nurses who care for them are amazing. But, when you’re in the hospital, you can really understand the need for a new building.”

Michael Bublé has been a supporter of BC Children’s Hospital for many years now. He makes frequent, quiet visits to meet with young patients and their families. In 2008 he took on the role of Ambassador to the Campaign for BC Children and performed for over 800 people at the Bublé Gala, which raised over $2.2 million for the campaign. He’s also participated in public service announcements for the hospital and has lent his songs Home and Everything to the campaign. Michael is not only a superhero but a superb example of someone who gives back, even when they’ve reached heights like Michael has in his career.

The Campaign for BC Children is calling on British Columbians to “Be a Superhero” by making a donation to the hospital. Donations can be made online at www.beasuperhero.ca. More information on the campaign and its priorities is available at www.beasuperhero.ca.

~Edith Wharton

In our case, at BC Children’s Hospital, our patients are our candles while our researchers, nurses and doctors act as our mirrors.

Dr. Steven Miller of the BC Child & Family Research Institute is no exception. Ground breaking work is currently taking place at BC Children’s Hospital and it has to do with what we can’t see; what needs the light of research.

Dr. Steven Miller is leading the way on how to better protect a newborn’s brain. He is a neurologist at BCCH and his research involves imaging technology and how it can help protect premature babies and their neurological development once they are no longer in the womb. Dr. Miller’s research is garnering its share of attention. The Globe and Mail newspaper featured his research in an article this summer.

The following excerpt is from The Globe and Mail article titled “Technology allows doctors to peek inside baby’s brain,” August 11th, 2010

“Premature babies, [Doctor Miller's team has] learned, tend to suffer damage to their white matter, which connects different parts of the brain and allows those parts to communicate with each other. That’s different from term babies – their injuries tend to affect the grey matter that makes up the structures of the brain.

Dr. Miller wants to be able to scan the brains of premature babies… and offer a prognosis that would either reassure families or help them prepare for the extra care, therapy or treatment their children may need as they grow up. “

D. Miller and his team began their research in 2006. Through extensive testing and 175 newborn brain scans, Dr, Miller has found roughly one in three premature babies have signs of white matter injuries. He’s now working to see if there is a link between how severe those injures are and whether the child will face developmental problems in the future.

To read the complete article in The Globe and Mail, click here.

If you would like to donate to the BCCHF to further child-healthcare research in BC and help outfit our hospital with the best technology available, click here.

Photo courtesy Davide Restivo

Not-for-profits around the world, tell me if this sounds familiar. These days, innovating and online giving  is like running alongside a
 moving train: the landscape is constantly changing and not always at a
 consistent rate. We speed up, we slow down and sometimes we come to a 
full stop only to start-up at top speed, yet again. We’re always looking 
into new and innovative ways to connect meaning and heart to online 
giving.

Last year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy released a study that looked at 3,500 donors who gave to charities in the United States. They found four out of five donors gave online. A little over half of the people studied preferred giving online and 46% expect to make a greater share of their charitable gifts over the web in the near future.

With more people turning to the web for giving opportunities, charities have to stretch their imagination and connect online giving to the real world in new and innovative ways. Here in British Columbia, a new opportunity has come up that brings whole new meaning to web 2.0 moving train metaphors.

The BC Children’s Hospital Foundation has been invited to take part in The Pixel Train. With the completion of the Canada line, Vancouver commuters now have more options than ever to stay out and about in the city. The fine folks at InTransit BC connected with BC Children’s Hospital and three other Lower Mainland charities, offering 2-D real estate along the outside of one of their trains. Throughout 2010, the Pixel Train will be collecting photos from donors and preparing them for display on the outside of the train. The size of on your image is directly connected to your online donation. For more information on how to post your pic on the pixel train, you can click here.

We think this is a great example of how charities can connect online giving to the day-to-day activities of our lives. It’s nice to see a smiling face as you board the train on your way to work — how extraordinary it would be to see your own.

As we continue to raise money for a new hospital, we often think about what we’d like to have in that new hospital. It should come as no surprise that the people we turn to for input and ideas are hospital patients. Enter Luca Piccolo.

Luca, first and foremost, loves soccer. This year, Luca was one of our patients featured over our wildly successful Miracle Weekend. Our community was introduced to Luca and how BC Children’s Hospital plays a role in his life. Luca has cystic fibrosis and visits to the Hospital are part of his routine. During Miracle Weekend, Luca made his energy and love for the game known. He even suggested a soccer field be installed  in the new hospital design.

Not only do we love that Luca opened up his life to our community and expressed his passion for the game, we love the benefits that accompany the game when kids are at play.

The CBC recently reported on the benefits of soccer on child health. Angelo Belcastro, a kinesiology professor at the University of New Brunswick, says, “soccer is one of the best physical activities for children to participate in because it parallels the way they move naturally. Typically children’s activity patterns are starts and stops, spurts and whatnot, and if you watch children in the playground that’s naturally what they do.”

Belcastro goes on to say that “shorter bouts, again with the rest periods and continuing that for 20, 30, 40 minutes, is very, very beneficial.”

We hear you loud and clear, Luca. The benefits speak for itself. But, more importantly, so does your love for the game. Enjoy the rest of the FIFA World Cup Championship!

To help us build a better hospital for Luca, you can click here.

To read Luca’s story, click here.

Grind For Kids

Inspiration struck Philipp and with it came a new mission for the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. We think the Grind for Kids project is a stellar example of when Web 2.0 and real life action meet and drive a movement, both on and offline. And hey, it’s win-win when BC kids benefit, right?

To learn more about Grind For Kids, click here and help spread the summer word! Meantime, enjoy our impromptu chat with our mountain man, Philipp Postrehovsky.

So Philipp, what is the connection between BC Children’s Hospital and the Grouse Grind?

“Last year I did the Grouse Grind 55 times and I thought why isn’t there an event that leverages Grind addicts like me to raise a mountain of money for BC Children’s Hospital?”

Hands down, your favourite online aspect of Grind for Kids?

“You make every Grouse Grind count! Each step you take raises money and gets you closer to the top of the mountain!”

Why is BC Children’s so important to you?

“I don’t have kids yet but I hope to one day. I want my kids and all other kids in BC to have the best care in the world! You never know when you’ll need BCCH but when you do, you know your children will be in the best hands possible.”

What’s your superpower?

“Spreading conversation through the power of social media!”

Have you got a favourite quote or personal motto?

“Yes. It’s by Charles Mingus and it pretty much sums up what drives everything I do in life: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple,  that’s creative.”

Mason announced an impressive $524,000 was raised for 29 local charities, which brings us to another favourite fact – BC Children’s Hospital is one of the 29 charities.

On July 21^st, Scotiabank will award an additional $5000 to the top three teams who raised the most for charity. It’s not to late to donate to you favourite charity. Donations will be accepted until July 11^th, 2010, so feel free to click here and find your friends and family who participated in the run.

Over 5,400 runners participated in the half marathon and five kilmetre races, setting a new record for the run. And, at the end of the day, there’s nothing better than watching people beat their personal best while running for a brighter future in the lives of BC kids. Well done!

For more details and complete race results, click here.

Battles are about how you live, not how you die, says Patrick Sullivan.

He has lived by this mantra ever since his youngest child, Finn, died from a rare form of childhood cancer in October 2008. Finn was three.

“People like to say, ‘Finn passed,’ or he ‘lost the battle’ to cancer, but I don’t see it that way,” said Sullivan, 41. “Finn lived a hell of a life.”

Finn was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant tumour of the muscles, in February 2007, when he was just 20 months old. Despite aggressive chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, the cancer prevailed. Finn died a year later, leaving behind a twin brother, Baird, his older sister, Sarah, and his grieving parents, Patrick and Samantha.

After Finn’s death, Sullivan joined the Ride to Conquer Cancer to honour his memory, even though the North Vancouver man had never been an avid cyclist. Last year, he and Team Finn, a group of 30 cyclists, raised $172,000 biking 260 km from Vancouver to Seattle. Around 1,700 people participated in last year’s ride, which raised more than $7 million for cancer research at the BC Cancer Agency.

This year’s Team Finn, now 146 members strong, have raised nearly half a million dollars, making them the third-highest-ranked fundraisers in the event. They will ride to Seattle this weekend wearing Finn’s favourite colour — pink — and carrying courage beads that once belonged to the little boy. The beads symbolize the many cancer treatments Finn had.

Aside from raising money for a cure, Sullivan’s main goal is to commemorate Finn’s lively personality by having fun.

“I want to ride a ride worthy of Finn, to celebrate life the way he did,” he said, because despite enduring hardships no two-year-old should have to experience, Finn soldiered on. He never stopped singing, dancing, bouncing and laughing until his last breath, said Sullivan.

“In December 2007, his kidneys had swollen up so badly they needed to stick needles in to drain the urine into pee bags,” said Sullivan. “He hadn’t eaten in two days, but when he came home, Mary Had a Baby by Bruce Cockburn came on, and he grabbed some maracas and started dancing around the kitchen. There were pee bags flying everywhere; that’s the kind of spirit he had.”

Baird, at five, still feels the loss of his twin. He and his father wear necklaces that carry some of Finn’s ashes.

“[Baird] said to me one night a month ago, ‘Daddy, can you come lie with me, I don’t want to be alone,’” said Sullivan. “I told him he would never be alone; Finn is in his heart. But he said, ‘I want him here, though.’ It’s a loss he will feel forever.”

Through his fundraising efforts, Sullivan hopes that some day the disease can finally be conquered.

“When Finn died, it didn’t change all the things he did or how he lived,” he said. “He didn’t ‘lose.’ If anyone lost, it’s the doctors because they didn’t know how to fix him. We’re trying to change that.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Family+rides+memory+young/3175187/story.html#ixzz0rWsAT3yL