Thank you to all of Toronto Rehab Foundation’s 4,000 active individual, corporate and foundation donors who generously support the Annual Fund and Everything Humanly Possible: The Campaign for Toronto Rehab . Every donor’s gift is sincerely appreciated and helps to advance rehabilitation and enhance quality of life for Toronto Rehab’s patients.

We are pleased to share with you some highlights of recent gifts:

• Tea in celebration of over $2 million raised for Lyndhurst Centre
• Everything Humanly Possible: The Campaign for Toronto Rehab announcements
• Corporate Sponsors

Celebration Tea - Lyndhurst Centre
October 26, 2009

Tim Casgrain, Chair of Toronto Rehab Foundation, and the patients and staff of Toronto Rehab's Lyndhurst Centre, hosted a Celebration Tea on October 26, 2009 to announce over $2 million in gifts raised to redevelop many of Lyndhurst's spaces.   Already, renovations to the outpatient centre have nearly doubled capacity.  

The story of Lyndhurst - now home to Toronto Rehab's Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program - began with three remarkable men: Dr. E. Harry Botterell, a pioneer in the field of neurology; Dr. Albin Jousse, a compassionate and dedicated physician; and Mr. John Counsell, a WWII veteran who fought for the proper treatment and the rights of both veterans and civilians with spinal cord injuries. The tireless efforts of these men, along with countless others, resulted in a revolutionary change in the understanding and treatment of individuals with spinal cord injuries in Canada and abroad.

Today, Toronto Rehab's Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program is Canada's largest inpatient rehab program for people with traumatic spinal cord injuries and non-traumatic diseases of the spinal cord and is a world leader in spinal cord rehabilitation research.

The October 26th event celebrated the past, the present and the future of what is surely one of the most unique hospitals in Canada by honouring its founders and present-day benefactors:

• Mr. Donald Ross led a successful fundraising challenge to name the lobby in honor of his friend - and Lyndhurst co-founder - John Counsell.  Former Medical Director, Dr. William Geisler, also attended to share his memories of collaborating with Lyndhurst's three founders.  View a copy of the tribute that is now displayed in The John Counsell Lobby at Lyndhurst Centre.  Read a transcript of John Counsell's compeling letter to the parents of his fellow comrade, John Gartshore, who pulled the wounded Counsell off the beach at Dieppe.  The letter was shared with us at the event by John Gartshore's daughter, Jackie Ogilvie.
• George and Anne Ploder recently made a remarkable gift of $1 million to Toronto Rehab.  Their gift is already at work funding the remodeling of the therapy and exercise facilities at Lyndhurst. The Ploder Family Spinal Cord Injury Project is designed to enhance therapeutic possibilities through new therapy and skills training features and themed areas.  New state-of-the-art equipment is also being installed to improve patient's mobility, function and balance.  We are grateful to the Ploders whose compassion and vision will change lives.   
• Oatley Vigmond and McLeish Orlando have committed a total of $1 million to be invested in Toronto Rehab's Lyndhurst and University sites.  Recognition of the firms' generosity will appear in the Spinal Cord Rehab Program's Patient Dining Room at Lyndhurst Centre and in two Neuro Rehab Program Patient Dining Rooms/Activity Areas in the new University Centre tower, upon completion.  This is Toronto Rehab's largest sponsorship of this kind and we thank these two law firms for their leadership.  
• Toronto Rehab is pleased to have named the Outpatient Reception Area in honor of the late James Rutley Grand.  Afflicted with polio as an adult, James Rutley Grand was told he would probably never walk again and might soon die. His determination following this discouraging prognosis helped him make a full recovery; a recovery he often said was due in large part to the support and encouragement he received during his stay at Lyndhurst.  Through The James R. Grand Memorial Fund at the Toronto Community Foundation, the family of Mr. Grand made a generous investment in the redevelopment.   
• Long-time supporter, The Dominion General Insurance, provided the lead gift to create the Therapeutic Recreation Room.  Equipment was funded through the Rick Hansen Foundation.  Until now, the patients have had no designated area for therapeutic recreation - an important component of their rehabilitation and life skills.  

Lead gifts announced as Everything Humanly Possible: The Campaign for Toronto Rehab goes public

Marking the public launch of the $60 million Everything Humanly Possible: The Campaign for Toronto Rehab in October 2007, two lead gifts were announced.

A $5 million donation by philanthropist, Judith Ryrie (Billie) Wilder, marks a lifetime of involvement and support of Toronto Rehab and is the largest personal donation ever made to the hospital. Both Mrs. Wilder and her father, Edward William (E.W.) Bickle, served in senior leadership positions on the Board of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital - one of Toronto Rehab's predecessor hospitals - for a total of 35 years. Mrs. Wilder's gift will honour her father with the renaming of Toronto Rehab's Queen Elizabeth site at 130 Dunn Ave. to the E.W. Bickle Centre for Complex Continuing Care.

The other donation announced is from David Kerr, director and past Chair of the Toronto Rehab Foundation, and his wife Sheryl. Their gift of $1 million was the first seven-figure leadership gift of the campaign. The Kerrs' donation sent a powerful call-to-action to others who share their altruistic spirit to improve the quality of life of people recovering from and living with disabling illness or injury.