April is just around the corner, and that means Earth Month will be starting soon! We are thrilled to announce our Earth Month event, where fundraising efforts for Hemophilia Ontario will have an even greater impact.
For the entire month of April, Hemophilia Ontario’s Fundraiser will earn an impressive 25% on every purchase made through our TruEarth fundraising link. This is a fantastic opportunity to help us reach our fundraising goals while also contributing to a sustainable cause. The funds raised from this effort will go directly to the programming our members rely on and anticipate each year.
To make this event a success, there will be a variety of events running throughout the month, featuring some of the best deals of the year.
One of the many reasons our team enjoys working for this community, is the innovation that comes along with it. There is so much work constantly being done to better the lives of those living with a bleeding disorder – so many resources, and so much time is invested in ways of improving one’s quality of life.
We believe it is important for our members to be able to do their own research and learn how to advocate or themselves, and one of the ways we do this is through sharing educational resources. These resources help patients make more informed decisions that are based on new and emerging information, and can be specific to one’s unique bleeding disorder and treatment journey. Please feel free to take a look at the resources below for more information on both coagulation products, and new products that are in the pipeline.
Hemophilia Ontario will hold their 68th Annual General Meeting on Saturday April 13th, 2024, 9:30am at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel & Suite, 5875 Airport Road, Mississauga. All members are invited to attend and participate in person or if you can’t attend in person we will have a zoom link.
Hemophilia Ontario is also pleased to announce that we will be recognizing the retirement of Betty Ann Paradis at our AGM. Betty Ann was a part of the bleeding disorders clinic at Health Sciences North in Sudbury for 40 plus years and a registered nurse for 56 years! Many of our members from across Ontario remember Betty Ann from their time at YMCA Wanakita, with her warm hugs and kindness helping campers feel at home in the Bayer Den for more than 35 years! We invite everyone who is able to attend our AGM in person and join in as we acknowledge Betty Ann.
Betty Ann has many accomplishments during her nursing career but her most outstanding achievement was being a leader in the launch of our summer camp for children living with bleeding disorders at YMCA Wanakita. She has taught hundreds of children how to self-administer life-saving therapies to prevent bleeding events. She has seen some campers grow up to be young leaders, and some have their own children attend the camp as well. She is a role model to her patients, many of which have chosen careers in nursing because of her impact on their life.
We invite everyone who is able to attend our AGM in person to join us as we acknowledge Betty Ann. If you are not able to attend in person but have a message or memory you would like to send to Betty Ann please sign our e card below.
If you have questions or would like to RSVP to attend in person or via zoom link, please contact Susan Turner at sturner@hemophilia.on.ca or via phone at 416-972-0641.
Hemophilia Ontario invites anyone with a bleeding disorder who is, or plans to be, attending a post-secondary institution in the fall of 2024 to apply for the John Plater Scholarship and Bursary Program. Hemophilia Ontario awards one scholarship in the amount of $8000 available to Ontario residents, and four bursaries in the amount of $3000 available to all Canadian residents.
The application requires you to submit the following
two reference letters with contact information provided
a typed original essay of your own composition between 400 and 500 words on one of the topics listed in the application form
transcript of grades
letter or email from the post-secondary institution you plan to attend in September 2024 indicating acceptance or eligibility for enrollment in the upcoming academic year, if you have already received one
Our scholarship and bursary program is named in honour of John Plater, a tireless advocate for people with bleeding disorders and those who were affected by the tainted blood tragedy. John had severe hemophilia A and contracted HIV from tainted blood. He passed away in the prime of his life in 2012 due to complications from AIDS. John’s advocacy aided in the establishment of the Krever Inquiry and compensation for those who were infected with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C. John graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1996, was called the Bar of Ontario in 1998, and he maintained a legal practice assisting those affected by the tainted blood tragedy. This program recognizes and celebrates John’s commitment to education, our community and helping others.
St. Michael’s Hospital (Toronto) and Kingston General Hospital (Kingston) in Canada are conducting a study on bone density in women who are carriers of hemophilia A around the time of menopause compared to women of the same age who are not carriers.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please see the poster below.
Episode 7 – A Conversation with Wendy Quinn – President of CHS
Join us as we talk with Wendy Quinn, President of Canadian Hemophilia Society, about being a mother of a child with hemophilia and an advocate for all those with bleeding disorders. We explore Wendy’s various roles as a primary care provider and some potential suggestions for navigating primary care provider visits.
We are so proud here at Hemophilia Ontario of the work that we are constantly doing to better the lives of those living with bleeding disorders. We have helped more people this year than ever before, with a growing presence in our Northern Communities and the greater need we are seeing everywhere in the province with the cost of living. We have been able to support 132 individuals on their bleeding disorder journeys in 2023 and look forward to supporting even more in 2024.
We cannot do this work alone, however, and want to acknowledge the diligent and generous work of those who have mailed in gift cards and made donations to help support members and families beyond what Hemophilia Ontario can do. We have seen the kind of power and unity that can be achieved when we reach out to our community for help – and have seen the difference it makes in real peoples’ lives. People who have faced a grave diagnosis, who have been threatened with eviction, who can’t afford to meet their children’s basic needs. Generous individuals from our community have risen to the challenge on multiple occasions to help support others in this exact circumstance. Other members have pulled together and collected donations of items, clothing, household appliances, and more. This demonstration of compassion does not go unnoticed, and we thank you endlessly for this.
Unfortunately, there is still more work to be done. With the holidays coming up, we have a total of 9 families that are in dire circumstances and require us to rise to the challenge once more. So, we are once again reaching out to our amazing community to ask for your help in supporting these families this Holiday Season.
If you can contribute to these families, we are collecting Walmart gift cards to help support them, as these tend to be the most helpful universally. Any amount makes a difference in the lives of these families and individuals and will ensure they are able to get back on their feet to meet 2024 head on. If you are interested in donating, please reach out to Sarah Levy, Manager of Member Support & Services, at slevy@hemophilia.on.ca, or by phone at 647-354-5660.
Remember, giving a gift that is going to make a difference this Holiday Season is a win-win for everyone. If you have the capacity to give, please consider giving a gift that matters.
