Mining for Miracles to fund Gut4Health for its 2019 & 2020 campaign

Premier John Horgan meets Layla Houghtaling, BC Children’s Hospital patient, along with her mother Kristin Houghtaling, father Jeff Houghtaling, younger sister Charlotte Houghtaling, and Karla Mills, Mining for Miracles Co-Chair and Vice President, Project Development, Teck, in Prince George, BC.

We’re excited to announce that our new Mining for Miracles fundraising campaign for 2019 and 2020 is BC Children’s Hospital’s Gut4Health program.  The initiative will further microbiome research and the development of new therapies with the goal of making BC Children’s the first children’s hospital in Canada to use gut bacteria to predict, prevent and treat infections and chronic inflammation in kids.

Premier John Horgan joined BC mining industry representatives at the BC Natural Resources Forum to launch this year’s fundraising campaign, with a goal to raise $3.725 million over the next two years for Gut4Health.

Why is Gut4Health so important?

  • Gut4Health will further research into the use of gut bacteria to predict, prevent and treat infections and chronic inflammation in kids.
  • Currently the diagnosis and treatment of many chronic diseases involve invasive procedures and medications with serious side effects—Gut4Health will study the gut microbiome to find better and safer ways to predict and prevent these diseases.
  • BC’s kids need microbiome research so that new and effective therapies can be developed—Gut4Health will develop and test new treatments with the goal of creating cures that will work for a lifetime.
  • BC Children’s Hospital has the clinical and scientific expertise to be the Canadian leader in pediatric microbiome research and therapeutic development, but the required facilities are not available in any children’s hospital in Canada—Gut4Health will provide the infrastructure needed to create these facilities and drive forward microbiome research.

Donations can be made through employee and corporate fundraising initiatives, or through annual fundraising events, like Jeans Day™, the Online Silent Auction, the Diamond Draw, Hooked on Miracles, and the Celebrity Pie Throw (May 23, 2019).

“Mining for Miracles has provided an excellent conduit over many years for the BC mining industry to give back to the communities where we operate and help BC Children’s Hospital lead the way in children’s health care.” —Karla Mills, Co-Chair of Mining for Miracles and Vice President, Project Development at Teck.

Our continued success in funding past initiatives is a direct result of our donors recognizing the importance of child health care and preventative treatments. It is through the generosity of individuals and corporations in our community that we are able to positively impact the lives of children in BC. We thank you for your support and look forward to another success story in fundraising for Gut4Health.

Visit www.miningformiracles.ca for more information and to donate.

Hooked on Miracles team presents the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation a cheque for $319,000

In November, the Hooked on Miracles team was proud to present to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, on behalf of the participants, sponsors, guides, and organizers, a cheque for $319,000 – the proceeds from the 2018 fishing tournament. Pictured from left, Hooked on Miracles coordinators Cathy Strickland and Rachel Risi, Hooked on Miracles Co-Chair, Tim Bell, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO, Teri Nichols, and BC Children’s Hospital Foundation Philanthropy Officer, Meghan McQuaid.”

Hooked on Miracles participants were invited to the unveiling of the Institutional BioBank at BC Children’s Hospital.

Hooked on Miracles Advisory Board members (left to right) Pierre Lebel, Chairman of the Board at Imperial Metals; Jim O’Rourke, CEO at Copper Mountain; Mitch Zulinick, COO at Arrow Transportation; Dennis Chmielewski, VP Mining Equipment Sales at SMS Equipment; Russ Hallbauer, CEO at Taseko Mines (missing in photo) and Hooked on Miracles Co- Chairs (center) Al Cloke, Copper Mountain and Dave Sharples, SMS Equipment; presenting the cheque to B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation, President Teri Nicholas.

2014 marked another successful year for Hooked on Miracles who contributed $400,000 to the Mining for Miracles campaign in support of B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation. Despite reduced profits from the recent decline in commodity prices, mining companies in BC and the industry’s suppliers continue to donate to important causes like BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

This year, the Child & Family Research Institute completed of the development of an Institutional BioBank at BC Children’s Hospital. This will be the first institutional pediatric Biobank in Canada and will facilitate breakthrough medical discoveries that will improve the lives of children suffering from debilitating and life-limiting diseases.

Hooked on Miracles presented their 2014 contribution to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation at the corporate recognition event, where donors received a tour of the newly built facility.