Giving Back

Last gala in September included stories from families who have been touched by Ronald McDonald House, special guests and performances, a silent auction and more, all to support families at Ronald McDonald House BC and Yukon.

Visit https://give.rmhbc.ca/event/a-night-to-dream-gala/e403852 to learn how you can help make an impact.

A big thank you to our hardworking team.

Our team organized and packed the hampers for the families to pickup and said it was a great experience seeing first hand the impact of their efforts! The CityReach staff appreciated the extra help during the summer months when many of their regular volunteers are on vacation.

The Sharing Farm is dedicated to providing fresh, healthy, sustainably grown produce to community members facing food insecurity and is able to provide more than 20,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables every year to the Richmond Food Bank and community meal programs.

Thank you to our volunteers for spending the afternoon giving back to the local community!

Coast Mental Health, an independent registered charity, is the largest provider of community-based services for people living with mental illness in B.C.  In any given year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental illness or addiction problem.  Mental illness indirectly affects all Canadians at some time through a family member, friend or colleague and affects people of all ages, education, income levels, and cultures.

In our ongoing commitment to give back to our local community, we are proud to support Coast Mental Health and the work that they do in providing essential support and services for people with mental illness so they can find their meaningful place in our community – a place to live, a place to connect, and a place to work.

Please visit www.coastmentalhealth.com to learn more.

To honour the longstanding leadership of the Chinese community, the tireless dedication of the orthopedics team at BC Children’s and the courage and perseverance of children and youth in our province, Peterson also announced a $1 million donation at the event to continue to drive excellence in global hip health research through our continued support of the Peterson Fund For Global Hip Health.

A record $6 million was raised at the gala in support of ensuring that the orthopedics team has the equipment needed to continue operating on the front lines of innovation enabling them to build a sustainable clinical outcomes research program to tackle some of the biggest challenges in pediatric orthopedics.

A big thank you to our team of Peterson volunteers who sold raffle tickets to guests helping to raise $38,000 in raffle ticket sales for the hospital.

Every dollar donated is stretched to $6 by the food bank, which uses the money to distribute the most needed items including fresh fruit and vegetables, proteins, and dairy products to our neighbours in need.

We hope these small, yet meaningful, deliveries bring a little magic to the families – reminding them that they are part of a caring community and help to alleviate some emotional stress and extra costs this time of year can bring.

The Sunny Hill Centre at BC Children’s Hospital is a community; a place of support, understanding, and strength.  At Sunny Hill, kids with mobility and developmental needs face their greatest challenges – and celebrate extraordinary triumphs.  Many of their conditions pose life-altering difficulties, and they often show strength and resilience beyond their years. 

In August 2020, the new Sunny Hill opened it’s doors to receive the first patients at the one-of-a-kind facility, thoughtfully designed for the kids and families there.  A special space in the new Sunny Hill has been named the Peterson Family Gathering Space.  In our continued commitment to give back to our community, we are so proud to be part of this incredible initiative ushering in a new era of care for the children and their families who rely on Sunny Hill, giving children and families the very best opportunity to be healthy and fulfill their hopes and dreams by providing the very best to patients across the province who rely on Sunny Hill.

Due to the temporary health restrictions ordered by the authorities to prevent the spread of COVID-19, CMH has been forced to close some of their most impactful services.  One of the most immediate needs for their at-risk clients is stable access to healthy, nutritious food.  To address the gap of the closures of some services, CMH has implemented a takeaway meal program to provide clients with a meal as well provide continued support while clients wait in line for meals.  We made a donation that provides 3,000 nutritional and substantial meals, or approximately 1 month of meals, to the 120-140 clients who are relying on this support and will have an immediate impact on those living with mental illness in our community.  We are proud to support the CMH team in their efforts to help meet the needs of this vulnerable population during this challenging time.

Peterson volunteers also spent an afternoon helping to package meals.  Sharing in the mission of our community partners, in addition to receiving a warm, hearty and nutritious meal, we hope that the seniors who received these meals also know that they are loved and that someone cares enough to bring them a hot meal, check in on them, and perhaps even share a laugh.

Chris Jackson, our General Counsel, is a long-time organizer, volunteer, fundraiser and participant of the Hoop-Law event.  Chris has helped organize the tournament since 2007 and is a former President of the Hooplaw Society, a non-profit organization of downtown practitioners who raise funds for local charities.

On September 7^th, 2019, over 250 lawyers from more than 25 law firms, along with dozens of law students, gathered to participate in the tournament raising over $80,000 from the generous contributions of the Vancouver legal and business community in support of the recipient charities: Night Hoops, Aboriginal HIPPY, and the Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of BC. We were happy to make a donation through our Employee Directed Giving Program supporting Chris’s volunteer efforts and the good work of Hoop-Law participants and organizers.  Chris was recognized as the 2^nd top fundraiser, personally raising $8,050.  Congratulations to the Hoop Law organizers and participants on another successful fundraising event supporting the local community!

Collectively, the community raised over $11,000 through cash donations and we collected nine large boxes of food items at our buildings.  Thank you to everyone that donated! We are proud to support the meaningful and impactful efforts of the dedicated Richmond Food Bank volunteers and staff in the work that they do providing nutritious food for our neighbours in need.

The food bank gives healthy and nutritionally-balanced food to more than 2,200 people in a typical week, providing Richmond residents with healthy food choices and connecting their clients to services that address the root causes of poverty. 32% of their clients are children and 55% of clients are temporary users, most of whom are suffering through a crisis. They receive no government support and rely entirely on the community donating food, money, and time. Please click http://richmondfoodbank.org/2019/11/26/peterson-matching-donation/ to donate or learn more.

In partnership with two inner city schools who provided us with the names and wishes of the families, we were happy to share in the spirit of the season helping to put some extra food on the table and special gifts under the tree for these families.

We had a truly memorable and inspiring afternoon competing against the 18 other teams, raising a collective $204k for the Children’s Wish Foundation!  The event is a team challenge event that brings together wish supporters and wish children.  Each team is tasked with raising $10k and on challenge day, teams come together to celebrate fundraising efforts and to compete in challenges designed to test team spirit, mental agility, and physical ability.

We’d like to send a very heartfelt thank you to the incredible generosity of everyone who joined with us to help grant our amazing wish kid Kimberly, her most heartfelt wish.  Thank you also to the Children’s Wish Foundation for the inspiring work that they do granting wishes to Canadian children between the ages of 3 and 17 who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

Natalia has helped clients pick out interview outfits at the DFS boutique through their suiting program and continues to be a mentor to clients through the career centre “alumni” program, attending regular meetings where clients meet to support and encourage each other through building confidence, networking and discussing workplace-related topics.  Her volunteer efforts started back in 2011 after she attended a conference and bid on a silent auction item of a membership with YES! Vancouver, a philanthropic networking group of professional women looking to make powerful connections with fellow female members of the business community. Through this organization, she learned about the incredible work of DFS and felt that their values of dignity, inclusiveness, and hope really spoke to her own personal values.

 “My family immigrated from the Philippines and my dad had to return to Manila to find work. He travelled back to Vancouver at least once a year, but we saw very little of him growing up. Thankfully, my mom found work here in Canada and she raised me and my two sisters essentially on her own. She was a great example as to how a working mother can be a source of strength to support a family. So I’m very grateful for the opportunities given to new immigrants and I want to give back to the community. A lot of the clients of DFS are new immigrants, single mothers or survivors of abuse. The women that I meet through DFS continue to be an inspiration to me through their stories of resilience and hope”. 

We recently made a donation to Dress for Success at Natalia’s request through our employee-directed giving program to support a cause that she feels passionate about and that also benefits our community. We are happy to support both Natalia in her volunteering efforts, and Dress for Success, in the valuable and meaningful work that they do offering long-lasting solutions that enable women to break the cycle of poverty.

Peterson was proud to partner with BCCHF on this initiative through an online matching campaign to double the impact of each dollar donated throughout the month. We are happy to share with you that BCCHF received over 560 gifts throughout the month of February raising $150,932 from the community.

The Sunny Hill Enhancement Initiative aims to raise $14 million to help create and enhance a state-of-the-art facility right on the BC Children’s Hospital campus for its unique patient populations. Sunny Hill is the only children’s rehabilitation facility of its kind in the province and once the relocation is completed in summer 2020, BC Children’s Hospital will become one of the few pediatric sites in North America with an acute care facility, research institute, mental health facility and rehabilitation centre on the same campus. This will help usher in a new era of pediatric health care, where the best and the brightest are able to seamlessly work together to improve treatments, outcomes and ultimately, better the lives of countless kids and families.

This month, 15 Peterson volunteers spent an afternoon volunteering with DFS sorting clothing and donated items.  Thank you to the staff and volunteers of DFS for the opportunity to give back to the local community supporting the good work that you do providing women with long-lasting solutions to break the cycle of poverty.

Peterson was happy to support Janice through our Employee Directed Giving Program in her fundraising efforts to help grant the wishes of children living with critical illness. Rope for Hope calls on participants to raise pledges in exchange for a once-in-a-lifetime experience to rappel down the edge of a high-profile building. Janice was inspired to do Rope For Hope having seen the different outcomes of friends’ children who had all aspects of support, compared to those that did not, while fighting against critical illnesses.  Janice far surpassed her personal fundraising goal of $3,000 by raising $4,163!  Way to go Janice for all of your efforts in support of Make-A-Wish and the good work they do creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

Through RMH BC’s Family Meal Program, our group prepared and shared a homemade meal with the families who call RMH BC home right now. Thank you the RMH BC staff and volunteers for the great work you do keeping families together in a home away from home, and to the families at RMH BC for welcoming us into the house for a truly memorable evening.

It takes two years and upwards of $35,000 to produce one certified dog, provided free of charge to the recipient. On Saturday, May 11, Peterson was a proud sponsor of BC & Alberta Guide Dogs Ties & Tails Gala.  At the event, three clients shared their incredible stories of how their Service Dogs have impacted their lives.  Thank you to the team at BC & Alberta Guide Dogs for an inspiring evening celebrating the great work you do in meeting the growing demand for professionally trained Guide Dogs, Autism Support Dogs, and PTSD Service Dogs for citizens in British Columbia and Alberta.

.  With students and teachers dressed up as their favourite characters from books and novels, literacy day raises awareness of the importance of literacy.  Dressed as characters from Winnie the Pooh, Peterson volunteers spent the morning flipping pancakes and serving breakfast to the students and their families. In our continued partnership, throughout the school year Peterson volunteers visit the school each week for a reading buddy program spending an hour reading with students.  The breakfast was a wonderful way to celebrate literacy with our friends at Queen Alexandra School!

More than a million kids count on BC Children’s Hospital and funds raised through Jeans Day will help advance innovative research, purchase advanced equipment, and create spaces and practices that prioritize the unique needs of kids and their families in every aspect of their care. Since it started in 1990, Jeans Day has raised over $21 million to transform health care for kids.

Thank you Children’s Wish for an inspiring evening celebrating the magic of a wish and the joy and transformation that a wish can bring to a child with a life-threatening illness. The event raised over $550,000 in support of granting the 110 wishes that will be granted to wish kids in the next year.

The prize was for eight of our finest chef’s to spend an evening prepping, cooking and enjoying a delicious meal together. A big thank you to the Children’s Wish Foundation and to Tall Order Culinary for this fantastic prize and to everyone who participated with us in Team Eli’s fundraising challenge last year for your incredible generosity and support!