The Donors: Beth Dangerfield, Jennie Wilson, Jennifer Gittins, Johanna Preston
The Gift: $50,000 and climbing
The Causes: Princess Margaret Hospital, FoodShare and others
A couple of years ago, Jennie Wilson joined her mother and a group of friends for Toronto's Weekend to End Women's Cancers, which involves a 60-kilometre walk and raises money for Princess Margaret Hospital.
"My mother had breast cancer and we decided to do the walk with her," said Ms. Wilson. Her mother's treatment was a success and she's now healthy. Ms. Wilson and three friends – Beth Dangerfield, Jennifer Gittins and Johanna Preston – decided to do the walk again in 2010. This time, they wanted to see how much money they could raise if they really worked at it.
They dubbed themselves "Hello Titty" and held several fundraising events, often at Quince Bistro in downtown Toronto, which Ms. Gittins owns. By the time they did the weekend walk that fall they had collected $30,000.
"We surprised ourselves," said Ms. Wilson who works with Ms. Dangerfield and Ms. Preston at Angus Lloyd Associates Inc., an educational consulting firm. "But then we said, 'Look this is good civic activity and it's fun.'" So they changed the name of their group to "Both Hands" and found a new cause to support.
Last May, the women organized a fundraiser for FoodShare, a Toronto-area food bank, and raised $20,000. They're already planning a fundraising project next year and expect to donate the proceeds to Blessings in a Backpack Canada, a charity that runs food programs for children.
The women will do another event the following year and pick a different charity to support.
"We decided to keep going and pick other causes that are close to our hearts and that matter," said Ms. Wilson. "It's not like it's rocket science. Anybody can be doing this and we all should be doing it."
pwaldie@globeandmail.com
Paul Waldie