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Six 11-year-old friends donated their earnings to the Rose Ages Breast Health Centre: Isla (left), Lucy, Alice, Parker, Jackie and Tess.
“I know it’s a hospital, but this is beautiful!” said Parker when the elevator doors opened at the Rose Ages Breast Health Centre.
This was the reaction not of an adult woman, but of an 11-year-old boy. Parker and five friends had arrived with a giant cheque for the new breast health centre. The six children also carried a plastic bread bag containing their donation of $247.95 in coins. They had come together on a mission to fundraise for a good cause.
The six friends proudly presented their $247.95 donation in a plastic bread bag.
“These kids decided a while ago – entirely amongst themselves and with no guidance or prompting from their parents – that they were going to donate their funds to breast cancer research,” said Roland Paris, whose daughter Jackie was one of the fundraisers. “They actually wrote a list of causes on a whiteboard and voted on them.”
Breast cancer research received the most votes. The children may have been influenced to raise money for this cause because they knew that one of the moms in their neighbourhood, Rebecca Hollingsworth, was being treated for breast cancer, Roland said.
The friends – Jackie, Alice, Tess, Isla, Parker and Lucy – found clever ways to raise money: selling lemonade, cutting grass, raking leaves, shovelling snow, and other helpful chores. Then they pooled their earnings and made their joint donation to The Ottawa Hospital on Oct. 24. The children were excited to present the cheque and were happy to tour the new centre with Dr. Erin Cordeiro, the centre’s medical director.
The Ottawa Hospital is grateful to these six friends. Their generosity is a shining example that no donation is too small and no fundraiser too young to make a difference.
The Ottawa Hospital is raising money for breast cancer research.
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The Ottawa Hospital
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