Message from the Board Chair and President of the Toronto Rehab Foundation
Thanks to an incredible team effort, the Toronto Rehab Foundation raised close to $3.5 million in 2007/08, bringing our gross fundraising revenue to almost $25 million over the last six years. This remarkable achievement is a direct reflection of the very special partnership that exists between Foundation staff and our volunteers. Their work is inspired, in part, by their determination to make a difference in the lives of patients who have been touched by severe illness and injury.
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Building momentum thanks to generous hearts and creative minds
Our capital campaign continued to build momentum with this year’s launch of the public phase of Everything Humanly Possible: The Campaign for Toronto Rehab.  We kicked the festivities off by revealing that we had already successfully raised $45 million — 75 per cent of our $60 million private sector goal. Thanks to the generous hearts and creative minds at BBDO Toronto, a series of television, radio and print ads proved highly effective in further reinforcing our cause and need for community support and heightening awareness leading to our campaign launch.

Our media sponsors, Rogers and St. Joseph Communications, generously seized the opportunity to further extend our reach and message — Research+ Care = New Beginnings. And, it’s getting results. Our television advertisement, in particular, generated some animated conversations about disabling illness and injury, while one of our print ads yielded a $25,000 gift.

Last fall, we launched a new website, www.torontorehabfoundation.com, adding enhanced content as well as online donation capabilities, making it even easier for people to Give the Gift of Hope to support patients facing sudden and significant life challenges.
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Supporting Toronto Rehab behind the scenes
Reflecting upon the past year, it is clear that our greatest asset lies in the people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to generate support for Toronto Rehab and the donors who respond so graciously. We further enriched that asset this year with the addition of three new Board members — S. David Craig, William Cunningham and Dr. Bhausaheb Ubale, as well as new volunteer recruits to support our fundraising initiatives

We also made time during our public campaign launch to increase the Foundation’s profile among key stakeholders and to acknowledge the significant contributions of some very special Foundation friends. Among them were our lead campaign donors —Judith R. (Billie) Wilder, whose generous gift was the largest personal donation ever made to Toronto Rehab, and David and Sheryl Kerr, whose $1 million gift was the first seven-figure gift to the campaign.
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Barbara Stymiest – Outstanding Volunteer
Well-earned recognition was bestowed upon our campaign chair, Barbara Stymiest, who received the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) – Greater Toronto Chapter Outstanding Volunteer Award. The woman behind our Everything Humanly Possible campaign has demonstrated extraordinary leadership. As head of our capital campaign, RBC Financial’s Chief Operating Officer personally recruited the original campaign cabinet that has continued to flourish and grow under her leadership. She was also the first to give both personally and corporately by leveraging gifts from her current employer as well as from her previous one, TSX. In recognition of Barbara’s significant contributions to the campaign and to our organization over many years, we created and named a new research chair in her honour last year — the Barbara G. Stymiest Chair in Rehabilitation Research Technology.

Among our valued sponsors and partners is Loblaw Companies Limited with whom we’ve shared a relationship for 18 years. Their generous support of the Toronto Rehab Gala and their own Loblaws Property Golf Tournament are a testament to their sense of community.

As we head into a new fiscal year, we are pleased to welcome Tim Casgrain as the Toronto Rehab Foundation Board Chair for 2008/09, who assumes the role from Paul Weiss. Tim is Chairman of Skyservice Investments Inc. He chairs the Boards of CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, and is also President of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

With 2008/09 now upon us, the Foundation has hit its stride and continues to move forward thanks to increased community awareness and support, and the strong commitment of our volunteers and staff. Thanks to their efforts and the generosity of our many corporate and individual donors, Toronto Rehab is able to do Everything Humanly Possible for so many people affected by the challenges of disabling injury and illness through its essential research, education and patient care programs. We are all proud to be partners in this remarkable work.

Paul Weiss Chair, Board of Directors Toronto Rehab Foundation

Sheila Hicks President Toronto Rehab Foundation

The Foundation wishes to extend its deepest gratitude to Paul Weiss for his unwavering leadership, wisdom and support over these past two years as Board Chair.  Paul has been a member of the Toronto Rehab Foundation Board since its inception and originally became involved with Toronto Rehab through The Queen Elizabeth Hospital more than 17 years ago.
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