Toronto, ON – Holland Bloorview is thrilled to announce a generous $2 million gift from Jason Smith, to propel us toward the finish line of our $32M campaign to grow the Bloorview Research Institute (BRI).
In 2018, an exceptional $4M gift from the Smith Family launched this bold campaign and now Jason—who has long been a leader, champion and fundraiser in the Holland Bloorview community—has stepped up again to help us reach our goal.
As father to a son, Alexander, who was once a client at Holland Bloorview, following a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis that caused multiple strokes and induced a coma, Jason knows the impact the hospital has on children and youth with disabilities and medical complexities.
“When you go through something like that and you come through the other side, it’s hard not to feel extremely lucky,” says Jason. It is that sense of relief that had Jason choose to give back to the hospital. Jason is the Executive Chairman of Real Matters (TSX: REAL) and is also the Chair of the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation Board of Directors.
Now his latest $2 million donation is helping complete the Grow BRI Research campaign and create the largest concentration of childhood disability researchers in the world.
The $32M campaign is funding Ontario’s first child friendly and accessible MRI, as well as an 11,000 square foot addition, known as the tower, which will house new discovery hubs, additional scientists and state-of –the-art equipment. The new BRI will be equipped to find solutions to the biggest challenges faced by kids and families, and to accelerate our commercialization activities to ensure that our innovations reach every corner of the globe.
In recognition of the Smiths’ generosity and fundraising, the research tower will be named in their honour.
