Health Winners
Helen LuWinner – Health (Individual)Helen Lu, known as ‘Mama Lu’ to her friends, says she started volunteering out of gratitude. Now 78, the North York resident’s volunteer efforts have impacted multiple organizations and causes since she came to Canada from Taiwan in 1969. A founding director of the Yee Hong Foundation, she was recently honoured with the Golden Ray Award at a tribute dinner by the foundation for her fundraising achievements for an organization that provides a full spectrum of care for seniors. Her other volunteer efforts are with the Hospital for Sick Children, the United Way, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Daily Break Food Bank and the Canadian Unrelated Bone Marrow Donor Registry. She has also raised funds for flood victims in China, for famine relief in Somalia and in North Korea, and for earthquake relief in Taiwan and Haiti. |
Women of BaycrestWinner – Health (Group)Women of Baycrest, launched in 2009, is taking on a largely uncharted area of health care: women’s brain health. The North York organization is the first of its kind to support and fund research into women’s brain health as they age. Statistics show 70 per cent of the 500,000 Canadians who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease are women. The organization has hosted several events, from fashion shows to medical panels, to help raise money for the cause. With an initial fundraising goal of $250,000 during its first year of existence, the organization saw more than $1 million in funds raised — all the more impressive given the challenging economic climate. Ultimately the group’s objective is to raise $3 million to fund a new research chair in Women’s Brain Health & Aging at Baycrest. Research dollars will also support female brain scientists who engage in work that is relevant and sensitive to women’s brain-health concerns. |