Newsletter Articles:
• CHEO Launches $25 Million Research Campaign
• Former Patient Steps Up For Kids Who Need CHEO Now
• Taking Huge Steps Forwards In Lifesaving Research
• CHEO Employee Inspires Others by Giving Back
• The Best Care for Kids Requires The Best Equipment
CHEO Employee Inspires Others by Giving Back
If you read the newspapers and listen to the news on television the world is in the midst of a recession. Jobs have been lost, the economy is falling apart, one can’t help but wonder if there’s any money left to give to any charitable projects. If this is the case then why is the staff at CHEO so generous, raising over $1.7 million this past spring towards the BIG STEPS Campaign? The answer is simple –they just are. Darlene Poulin, an Administrative coordinator in the department of pediatrics in one of the over 300 staff who chose to make a donation to the BIG STEPS Campaign.
Donating was easy for Darlene. “It’s always good to give back,” explains Darlene. An employee of CHEO for the last seven years, Darlene grew up in a family where giving and charitable work was just a regular part of her life. “I learned a lot from my father.” Over the years, she has supported CHEO in more ways than one by donating her time to the CHEO United Way campaign, volunteering for the CHEO Telethon and much more.
For Darlene, making a donation is not just about an exchange of money. “It’s so much more than a tax benefit,” she explains. Making a financial contribution to the hospital is her way of ensuring that she is involved in the hospital’s daily operations as well as a way of voicing her opinion. “If I’m not participating, then I have nothing to say. If you want to really be a part of where you work then you have to get involved. Donating is a concrete way of getting involved.”
Darlene is well aware of CHEO’s financial needs when it comes to research, one of the two areas of focus of the BIG STEPS Campaign. Her work in the pediatrics department has allowed her to meet and work with many CHEO physicians who are passionate about research. She has seen first hand the results of physician research as well as the need for it. “It’s about sustainable support,” she explains. “You have to look at the big picture.” Darlene understands that in order to make substantial strides with a research project it must be carried over an extended period of time. Research needs time. Cures will not be found overnight, however with sustainable support a team of researchers will be able to carry on with their work and progress.
Darlene compares CHEO’s needs for research funding and new equipment to a city’s infrastructure. Research and equipment is a part of the basic infrastructure of our hospital. “You need to pay attention to the infrastructure. In giving you are helping to be a part of that.”
Darlene’s message to all of us is simple, “It’s not pennies you are giving,” she explains. “At the end of the year you have done something, you have really given something back.”
The volunteer taskforce of the BIG STEPS Campaign extends a hearty “thank you” to all of the staff that participated in the Staff campaign.