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Queen’s University graduates Jeff Gallant and Kyle MacDonald co-founded Capitalize for Kids.Glenn Lowson/The Globe and Mail

The gift: Creating Capitalize for Kids

The cause: Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children

When Jeff Gallant and Kyle MacDonald were studying commerce at Queen's University a few years ago, they both had big dreams of working on Bay Street.

They both landed jobs at investment firms in Toronto after graduating and soon became involved in charity work, particularly Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, where Mr. MacDonald had received eye treatment as a child. But after spending time volunteering and donating money, they decided to do something larger.

Over a drink one night, they hatched a plan to organize an investment conference, attracting big-name investors to offer up advice in return for donations. That led to the creation of Capitalize for Kids, a three-day seminar in Toronto with more than 20 presenters from a variety of firms, including Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital Management. Tickets cost $3,000 and proceeds go to the hospital's work on brain and mental health.

The first event in 2014 raised $1.2-million and this year's conference, which starts Sept. 29, is expected to pull in about $1.5-million. Mr. Gallant and Mr. MacDonald, both 26 years old, have been working full-time on the conference as volunteers for the past few months.

"When you have the chance to fund research that would not normally get funded, you feel pretty incredible about that," Mr. Gallant said.

pwaldie@globeandmail.com

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