Treasures of India raises over half a million dollars toward urgently needed CT scanner

2018 Philanthropy Award recipients honoured at foundation gala

A series of surprise gifts during the “Fund-a-Cause” portion of the evening contributed to an incredible total of over $500,000 raised at Burnaby Hospital Foundation’s Treasures of India gala this past Friday. The segment began with a combined $60,000 lead gift from a cohort of Burnaby Hospital physicians, which was then matched (and more) by a succession of private donations, as well as $25,000 from the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society. Moved by the generosity, Mr. William McCarthy stepped forward with an additional $100,000 donation.

The funds raised will be used toward a new $1.1 million CT scanner for Burnaby Hospital, which is currently operating with just one aging unit. Recently, the current scanner was down for unscheduled maintenance for an entire weekend, causing patients to be diverted to a nearby hospital. The incident was noted at the gala by Burnaby Hospital’s Head of Emergency, Dr. Paul Johar.

“It was the 3rd time the scanner has been down in the past year for unscheduled maintenance,” said Johar. “I’m going to be very blunt. We need to have the equipment necessary to serve our patients in a timely fashion – in all scenarios and circumstances. Right now, Burnaby Hospital does not.”

Thanks to the generous donors on Friday, the hospital soon will.

The sold out gala, presented by the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society, was hosted again by Love it or List it Vancouver host, and Burnaby boy, Todd Talbot. It featured an Indian-inspired theme including dance performances, an Indian-fusion menu, and remarks from new Burnaby Mayor, Mike Hurley.

The evening was also an opportunity to recognize the Foundation’s 2018 Philanthropy Award recipients: Dr. Susan Kwan, Dr. Tim Kostamo, the Chinese Ambassador Society, and Parkland Refining (B.C.) Ltd.

“I’m very pleased with how well the evening went,” remarked Burnaby Hospital Foundation CEO, Kristy James. “With the Philanthropy Awards, we were able to recognize some people who are extremely important to our organization. And with the money raised, we are more than halfway to our goal of bringing an urgently needed second CT scanner to Burnaby Hospital. This equipment is going to drastically cut wait-times for life saving diagnoses, and will ensure we never have to be concerned about the current machine being out of service. I want to thank our guests and our sponsors from the bottom of my heart for their generosity in support of our community hospital.”

As a final cap to the night’s festivities, the evening culminated with yet another unexpected surprise: a further $250,000 donation from the Burnaby Firefighters Charitable Society in support of the Foundation’s long running campaign to support a Mental Health and Substance Use Zone at Burnaby Hospital. The contribution matches another $250,000 commitment made by the Firefighters last February.

Award Recipients:

Keith and Betty Beedie Leadership in Philanthropy Award

Recipient: Chinese Ambassador Society

Burnaby Hospital Foundation Corporate Citizenship Award

Recipient: Parkland Refining (B.C.) Ltd.

Burnaby Hospital Foundation Dr. Kenneth Hill Spirit of Philanthropy Award

Recipient: Dr. Timothy Kostamo

Burnaby Hospital Foundation Physician of the Year Award

Recipient: Dr. Susan Kwan

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!