Celebrating 15 years of helping BC children and families embrace life

2010 represents a milestone year in Canuck Place history. Not only are we celebrating 15th years of service to BC children and families, but we are making plans to build a second hospice in Abbotsford.

In recognition of this, a series of events will take place over the next twelve months. Planning is underway of activities that will honour our past and celebrate our future ~ paying special homage to hospice founders, families who have been, or are currently, on our program, everyone who has ever worked or volunteered at the hospice, as well as past and present donors, community partners and supporters.

If you are interested in exploring 15th Anniversary event sponsorship opportunities or if you have a personal story about Canuck Place that you would like to share, please contact Amber Kendall, Development Officer, at akendall@canuckplace.org or 604.646.0519. We would love to hear from you!

For regular updates on 15th Anniversary commemoration plans, please visit www.canuckplace.org.

2009 Day of Giving Radiothon - Thank you

Broadcasting live from the hospice our partners TEAM 1040, QMFM 103.5, TEAM 1410 and The BEAT 94.5 made the 2009 Day of Giving Radiothon a tremendous success - Thank you!

Throughout the day families, donors, community partners, staff and volunteers shared touching stories about the care and comfort provided at the Hospice.

The day featured many highlights including pledges by London Eye Centre, Bet 365, Smart-tek Communications Inc., TRADEX in Abbotsford, Scotia Bank, Unity Telecom, Grimm's Fine Foods, TAC MOBILITY, Cascadia Container Line, Able Auctions and the Hudson family. Each agreed to donate $250 per Canucks goal scored on December 8th, Domino's Pizza also generously donated pizza for dinner for the families staying at the hospice.

Kudos to our hourly sponsors, the Vancouver Sun, TELUS, Innovative Fitness, Market Place IGA, LMS Reinforcing Steel Group, Ledcor, Westin Bayshore, RBC, Canadian Direct Insurance, Ritchie Brothers, MVKA Productions, Hardys Wine and London Drugs. Thank you for making the spirit brighter for the many families who rely on Canuck Place Children's Hospice during this season and throughout the year.

A special thanks to Nando's Flamed Grilled Chicken for offering a 1/4 chicken coupon to all those who either called in or visited our Day of Giving website and to the Sutton Place Hotel who offered coffee and muffins at their hotel in support of the Radiothon.

Our deepest appreciation to TELUS and its employees for providing the phone lines and staffing the call centre - we are grateful for your commitment to us on this event and our ongoing partnership.

It would not have been possible without the increbile support of the team at CHUM Radio. A special thanks to everyone at CHUM Radio - management, sales teams, publicity, technical support and on-air personalities - Mike Shaeffer, Tara McGuire and Dale Wolfe from QMFM and TEAM 1040's Bmac & Rintoul and Blake Price & Dave Tomlinson. Your enthusiasm and support mean so very much to us - we are grateful for our partnership with the CHUM radio group.

Click here to view photos from the day

Fraser Valley Families Fundraise for Canuck Place

To celebrate the Holiday season, a group of Langley families gathered together for a family skate on Christmas Eve as part of an ongoing tradition of friends and neighbours enjoying the festive season.

Embracing the spirit of giving, they collected donations towards the new children's hospice Canuck Place will build in Abbotsford.

Thank you Innovative Fitness Trainers

The month of December at Innovative Fitness means Train the Trainer! Customers turn the tables on their training coaches for 2 gruelling hours to help raise money for charity.

Created years ago as a way to give back to the community, customers have the opportunity to seek retribution on their training coach five minutes at a time by doling out whatever form of punishment they see fit in return for a $50 donation to the chosen charities.

Thanks to the generous donations and imagination of customers and friends at Innovative Fitness locations in West Vancouver, White Rock and Kitsilano, over $47,000 was raised! The event is another example of Innovative Fitness commitment to giving back to the community in which they live and work.

Highlights from the evening included dog-washing, head shaving and hair dying, dance competitions, construction work, lots of costumes and even more pushups with a child or two on top.

We are grateful to Innovative Fitness, their customers and their training coaches for helping make this event such an amazing success.

Thank you!

Richard taking the first shots on the new air hockey table

The Kiehne family's gift of joyful play for Canuck Place

The children at Canuck Place are enjoying a gift received in tribute of a special young man, Adrian Kiehne.

On January 21, 2009, parents Brenda and Rolf Kiehne, along with their daughter Sarah, suffered the tragic loss of their son and brother, Adrian. His passing was unexpected; 32 year old Adrian was engaged to be married, worked for CP Rail and studied at Kwantlen Techno University College. Adrian had a passion for travel, the great outdoors, extreme sports, gourmet food and fine wine.

“Adrian had a zest for life and filled his short one with living,” describes mom Brenda. “He was adventurous, always friendly and smiling, always ready to help and beloved by all who knew him.”

As parents who have lost a child, Brenda and Rolf have expressed great empathy for families who are facing serious illness or death of their children. Recognizing the important support and comfort that Canuck Place provides to BC children and families in their time of need, the Kiehne’s asked that in lieu of flowers at his service, that Adrian’s friends and families donate to the hospice in his honour. In consideration of Adrian’s love of children and sports (he was an amateur goalie) they felt that a gift of a new air hockey table with donations received would serve as a fitting legacy.

In memory of Adrian Kiehne

The deluxe air hockey table was an instant hit with children at Canuck Place. It’s a great source of indoor fun, allowing children to let loose to play, laugh, express themselves and work through stress and frustration with friends, family, volunteers and caregivers. Stimulating and interactive, the wheelchair accessible game is complete with an electronic scoreboard and is a wonderful addition to the hospice.

After touring Canuck Place and seeing the air hockey table in place, the Kiehne’s remarked that it boosted their spirits to see that they were able to do some good from the tragic loss of Adrian, and that he would approve of the gift of the table.

Canuck Place is extremely grateful to the Kiehne family and to those who were close to Adrian, whose special gift in loving remembrance of his generous and selfless nature, is bringing joy and helping to create lasting memories for children and families on our program.