Since late March, POGO has had to pivot along with our partners as the new reality of COVID-19 set in. For our partners, adapting to this new normal meant thinking of new ways to bring people together safely and changing the way to raise funds in support of childhood cancer. The outcome is an overwhelming display of community involvement to champion childhood cancer care.
POGO has been working to reduce the impact COVID-19 is having on the childhood cancer community. A video campaign featuring POGO Associate Medical Director Dr. Paul Gibson explains how, even though much of our lives has been put on hold during the pandemic, chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy continue for children with cancer. COVID-19 placed an even greater strain on families already dealing with their child’s cancer diagnosis. Our community rallied around our call for support and raised more than $21,000 to help offset the increased financial strain families will face.
The Toronto Women’s Run Series is a long-time POGO supporter, offering racing events to inspire, motivate and allow women to set their own pace. Because we have been unable to connect in person, the originally scheduled Half Marathon/10k/5k at Sunnybrook Park was the first event in the run series to go virtual. From May 17 to June 7, 2020, more than 1000 runners from far and wide crossed the finish line virtually and surpassed our fundraising goal by raising more than $20,000 for childhood cancer care! We await the results of the Virtual 10k/5k Run that ended September 7 and the Virtual 8k/5k Run takes place October 24 – November 14, 2020, so register today!
Our friends at Good Hood Club brainstormed different ways to support children with cancer, survivors and their families during lock down. The student-run loungewear company reached out to their network and created Good Hood Care Kits for children receiving treatment in POGO Satellite Clinics. Kits are full of homemade cards, fun crafts and other goodies made by members of the Good Hood community to put smiles on children’s faces.
Bruce Power connected with its partners in the nuclear supply chain to lend a hand to charitable organizations continuing to help people during the pandemic. The 2020 Charitable Events Sponsorship Program is benefitting POGO and several other organizations throughout Ontario. This collective support helps ensure access to the best possible care and support for everyone affected by childhood cancer during these challenging times.
LINKED for Life was created by POGO’s Survivor to Survivor (S2S) Network facilitators to raise both awareness about the late effects survivors face and funds in support of POGO. The goal is to create a visual representation of the connection between the childhood cancer community and those who support it. Colourful paper links will be hung at six participating hospitals during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September. Show your own support by purchasing your own link ($5) and sharing #LINKEDforLife on social media.
POGO is grateful to our strong network of childhood cancer champions. By thinking creatively and relying on the kindness of one another, we are able to ensure the continuity of the programs that benefit children with cancer, youth, their families and survivors in Ontario.
Have a great idea for a fundraiser in support of childhood cancer care? Contact us at events@pogo.ca and we’ll help you get started!
TIVERTON, ON – November 1, 2019 – Bruce Power will continue its sponsorship agreement with the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the 2019-20 season by highlighting its support of Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO).
Through its partnership, Bruce Power will sponsor games in 16 OHL communities during the regular season to raise awareness around Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and POGO. Both organizations will have an opportunity – through splitting the 16 games – to set up information/awareness kiosks inside the arenas on their respective game nights while the teams will promote POGO, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and Bruce Power on its social media channels and through their in-game promotions.
“Since becoming a partner of the Ontario Hockey League in 2017, we’ve been able to work with the league and teams on charitable initiatives that help raise awareness around the important work being done by the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada and POGO on behalf of cancer patients and their families across Ontario,” said James Scongack, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Operational Services. “Supporting these two organizations is an extension of the work our employees are doing in providing the world with medical isotopes that are used every day in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”
OHL Commissioner David Branch says the league and its teams share Bruce Power’s commitment to making their communities better places to live through charitable programs.
“The Ontario Hockey League greatly appreciates the work being done by our partners at Bruce Power and their support of these two great organizations that help countless people in our communities,” Branch said. “Cancer impacts everyone and this charitable effort will raise a great deal of awareness league-wide.”
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada didn’t hesitate to participate in the Bruce Power-sponsored games, having seen an increase in awareness around the organization and its programs with its presence at OHL games last season.
“For 37 years now, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada has funded brain tumour research while providing the brain tumour community with emotional support, access to accurate information and a connection to others facing this challenging disease,” said Susan Marshall, Chief Executive Officer, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. “We’re grateful to Bruce Power, the Ontario Hockey League and its clubs for allowing us to tell our story to hockey fans throughout the province.”
Like Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, POGO works in several OHL communities and is taking advantage of the opportunity to tell its story to major junior hockey fans.
Each year in Ontario, there are over 4,000 families with a child in cancer treatment or follow-up care. More than 86 per cent of children diagnosed with cancer will survive. Nearly 60 per cent of these survivors will experience complications either due to the disease itself, complex surgical procedures or the rigorous rounds of radiation and chemotherapy they were given during treatment. POGO champions childhood cancer care for now – for life.
“Creative collaboration allows us to work towards a collective goal, and POGO is proud to partner with Bruce Power and the OHL to raise awareness of Childhood Cancer across Ontario,” said Lynn Wilson, Chief Development Officer at POGO.
The Bruce Power-sponsored games begin this evening in Kingston and Kitchener and continue through February 5.
Kingston Frontenacs – November 1, 2019 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
Kitchener Rangers – November 1, 2019 (POGO)
Mississauga Steelheads – November 17, 2019 (POGO)
Sudbury Wolves – November 17, 2019 (POGO)
Oshawa Generals- November 22, 2019 (POGO)
Barrie Colts – November 23, 2019 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
Peterborough Petes – November 23, 2019 (POGO)
London Knights – December 28, 2019 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
Sarnia Sting – January 3, 2020 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
Hamilton Bulldogs – January 4, 2020 (POGO)
Niagara IceDogs – January 9, 2020 (POGO)
Ottawa 67’s – January 12, 2020 (POGO)
Guelph Storm – January 17, 2020 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
Windsor Spitfires – January 19, 2020 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
North Bay Battalion – January 30, 2020 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds – February 5, 2020 (Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada)
About Bruce Power Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,100 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province. Bruce Power is also a significant source of Cobalt-60, a radioisotope used for the sterilization of medical equipment around the world as well as a specialized form of cancer treatment called the Gamma Knife. Learn more at www.brucepower.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
For more information, contact:
John Peevers – Director, Corporate Communications – 519-361-6583 – john.peevers@brucepower.com
About the OHL
The Ontario Hockey League is a proud member of the Canadian Hockey League which is the world’s largest development hockey league with 60 teams in nine Canadian provinces and five American states. In addition to the OHL, the CHL is made up of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League. Last season, more than nine million fans attended CHL games in the regular season, playoffs and at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League than any other league. Last season 527 graduates attended Canadian Universities on scholarships from CHL teams.
About Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is the only national charity offering information and support to patients affected by any kind of brain tumour – be it cancerous, non-malignant or metastases. The organization funds ground-breaking research across North America and, since 1982, has dedicated over $7.2 million to finding a cure and improving treatment for brain tumour survivors. Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada is funded solely through generous contributions from individuals, corporations, organizations, employee groups and special events. Learn more at Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada’s website at www.BrainTumour.ca.
For more information, contact:
Susan Marshall – Chief Executive Officer, Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada –smarshall@braintumour.ca – 1-800-265-5106 ext. 222
About the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario
In 1983, a group of passionate and visionary pediatric oncologists founded the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). Today, inspired by the children and families whose lives we strive to improve, we champion childhood cancer care on behalf of the childhood cancer community. POGO is the official source of advice on childhood cancer to the Ministry of Health; a trusted source of information among colleagues, parents, survivors and the public; and the longstanding leader of a collaboration among the five academic pediatric oncology programs and other stakeholders, which has resulted in a highly integrated childhood cancer system. Learn more at www.pogo.ca and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
L to R: Dr. Mark Greenberg, Senior Clincal Lead, Strategic Initiatives and Founder, POGO; Mike Rencheck, President & CEO, Bruce Power; Bill Walker, MPP, Associate Minister of Energy; Jill Ross, CEO, POGO; James Scongack, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs & Operational Services, Bruce Power; Dr. David Hodgson, Medical Director, POGO; Dirk Noyahr, childhood cancer survivor and client in POGO’s school and work counselling program
Tiverton, ON (October 30, 2019) — Bruce Power announced today that it is fully committed to supporting the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario’s initiatives to provide children with cancer, their families, and survivors of childhood cancer, with access to ongoing treatment, care and financial support.
The announcement, made at the MaRS Centre in Toronto, reinforces a $300,000 commitment made by Bruce Power to POGO on February 15 – International Childhood Cancer Day. Bruce Power, a leader in the production of medical isotopes that are used around the world to improve people’s lives, will provide the funding over the next five years as a key element of the company’s Community Investment and Sponsorship Program.
“Our commitment to the people of Ontario crosses many paths,” said Mike Rencheck, Bruce Power President and CEO. “We provide 30 per cent of the province’s electricity at 30 per cent less than the cost to generate residential power. We inject $4 billion into Ontario’s economy every year, and we contribute $2 million annually to grassroots initiatives, events and organizations that improve the lives of children, adults, Indigenous peoples and military veterans.
“The continuing efforts around our production of medical isotopes are heavily focused on working with the medical community and other partners to find new ways for treating cancer. We share the values of POGO in providing state-of-the-art care to those afflicted with cancer in their childhood years, and doing what it can for families dealing with this life-changing diagnosis.”
One program supported by the Bruce Power funding is POGO’s school and work counselling service for childhood cancer survivors (SAVTI). POGO launched this program in 2002 to address a significant gap in survivor care, helping survivors, aged 16 plus, with neurocognitive challenges receive the necessary support to set and attain realistic educational and employment goals. POGO provides one-on-one counselling tailored to a student’s medical past and subsequent cognitive profile to help them bridge the gap between high school and whatever comes next for that student. POGO counsellors, specialists in their field, support clients in London, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston and the surrounding areas. Together with neuropsychologists, they also help young people identify and access the accommodations they need, connect to resources in the community, and receive guidance to empower them to become self-advocates at school and at work. POGO counsellors provided services to over 400 cancer survivors last year.
“Bruce Power’s multi-year commitment provides stable funding that will allow us to plan long-term for initiatives that support childhood cancer survivors, as well as Ontario families with children in cancer treatment,” said Jill Ross, POGO’s CEO. “Our work with community partners like Bruce Power, who share our commitment to helping people deal with cancer, plays an important role in ensuring a high-quality, safe and coordinated system of care that addresses both their physical and emotional well-being.”
“In addition to being the backbone of our province’s energy system, Bruce Power is now also an important partner in Ontario’s health care system, producing life-saving medical isotopes and providing financial and other supports to help fight childhood cancer,” said Bill Walker, MPP, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound and Associate Minister of Energy. “I commend your commitment and look forward to the great work from your new partnership with the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario.”
About Bruce Power Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,100 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province. Bruce Power is also a significant source of Cobalt-60, a radioisotope used for the sterilization of medical equipment around the world as well as a specialized form of cancer treatment called the Gamma Knife. Learn more at www.brucepower.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
About the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario In 1983, a group of passionate and visionary pediatric oncologists founded the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario (POGO). Today, inspired by the children and families whose lives we strive to improve, we champion childhood cancer care on behalf of the childhood cancer community. POGO is the official source of advice on childhood cancer to the Ministry of Health; a trusted source of information among colleagues, parents, survivors and the public; and the longstanding leader of a collaboration among the five academic pediatric oncology programs and other stakeholders, which has resulted in a highly integrated childhood cancer system. Learn more at www.pogo.ca and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube
