A major pediatric centre in Toronto is joining forces with an up-and-coming cycling event to help raise money for healthcare on Exuma.
Sickkids Foundation, the charitable arm of The Hospital for Sick Children, is planning a delegation to the island for November 14 as an off-shoot of their Sickkids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI). Ted Garrard, President of the Sickkids Foundation, and Colin Hennigar, Associate Director of Major Gifts, will be flying down from Toronto for a special dinner at Grand Isle Resort & Spa.
Also in attendance will be several members of Les Domestiques, a well-known cycling organization in Canada, which often raises significant funds for various charities.
Howard Chang, President and CEO of Top Drawer Creative Inc. in Toronto, and a member of Les Domestiques, is seeking to put on an annual bike event on the island called The Great Exuma Charity Bike Ride. Accompanying Chang will be several noted Canadian businessmen and healthcare philanthropists.
The aim of the event is to introduce high-net-worth individuals to Exuma in the hopes of raising money to equip the island’s new multimillion-dollar hospital. The Sickkids Foundation is already heavily involved in the Bahamian capital of Nassau through their Caribbean initiative, focusing primarily on pediatric oncology.
Meanwhile, the Exuma Foundation is also looking to get on board and harness their influential U.S. membership.
Peter Nicholson, an owner at Grand Isle who has recently been placed on the Board of Directors at the Exuma Foundation, believes adequate healthcare is essential to the future growth of Exuma.
“There is no doubt in my mind that top-notch healthcare is essential to the people of Exuma and foreign investors and second-home owners,” he said. “With we all come together, we can achieve this goal.”
The actual bike ready is scheduled for Saturday, November 15th, according to Chang, which is also intended to promote healthy living among Bahamians. The race leaves from downtown George Town that morning and continues the entire length of the island and back, covering appropriately 70km.