This weekend we had the good fortune to visit with Syd Birrell of The James Fund. Syd and his son Ben were passing through Winnipeg on a cross Canada train adventure. We were delighted to hear from them Saturday morning and even more delighted to be able to meet them during their stop over here. As many of you know, Syd is the father of James. Syd and his wife Pam initiated The James Fund at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto in an attempt to find a cure for neuroblastoma, the disease that their young son James sadly succumbed to. Syd and Pam, along with Syd's sister Diana, have continued their tireless efforts to support research and raise awareness for neuroblastoma. As you know, our fundraising efforts so generously supported by so many of you have all been directed to The James Fund. Thank you Syd for sharing the latest news in neuroblastoma research and thank you to the Falk family for joining us and for providing Syd and Ben with shuttle service to the Forks!
On Saturday, March 21 at 7:00, CTV's W-Five will feature The James Fund and the Birrell family. This is huge publicity for The James Fund and will hopefully attract attention that will translate into much needed funding. Please tune in if you are able.
To learn more about the exceptional research being done at SickKids in the field of neuroblastoma visit www.jamesfund.ca . Another site to visit to learn more about James Fund research partnerships is www.kidcancer.org
In other news:
For those of you here in Winnipeg with access to MTS On Demand, you may be interested in watching a local story about our young friend and neuroblastoma survivor Angela Hill. The story is about her experience with the cancer puppets at CancerCare Manitoba and it is an experience similar to ours with Matthew. It features wonderful Child Life Specialist Dawn Kidder. We are grateful to her for introducing Matthew to puppet Jeffrey. Thank you to Angela and her mom Holly for sharing their story. To view: access MTS on demand, go to Free Stuff, Heart of the City, Cancer Puppets.
